Facing the same opponent twice in three days gave the Dallas Stars a glimpse of potential playoff intensity, and they certainly looked ready for it.
Jason Robertson netted his 39th goal of the season, capping a trio of power-play goals for the Stars as they defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Monday night, marking their sixth win in seven games.
Robertson’s goal, scored in the opening seconds of the third period, extended Dallas’ lead to three goals. Jamie Benn contributed a goal and two assists, while Miro Heiskanen added three assists, bolstering Dallas’ lead atop the Central Division.
“Our execution, our passes were pretty crispy,” Robertson said about the Stars’ power play. “Our movement, trying to be unpredictable, guys moving all around the place.”
The Stars swept the back-to-back games against the Kraken, extending their lead over Minnesota in the division to three points with 15 games remaining in the regular season.
“It was an important four points. You look at the standings and we’re fighting for first in the division, first in the conference,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. “This was a real test for us coming in here for two games, and I thought our group really responded.”
Evgenii Dadonov, Joe Pavelski, and Wyatt Johnston also scored for Dallas, with Jake Oettinger making 26 saves.
Yanni Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen scored for Seattle, but the Kraken’s penalty kill was their downfall. Seattle had successfully killed 31 of the previous 32 power plays but allowed Dallas to go 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
“Bottom line, we didn’t get the job done. At the end of the day, that’s what matters,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “There were a couple where we made mistakes with our positioning and where our sticks were.”
Dadonov and Benn scored within the first six minutes to give Dallas a 2-0 lead, and Pavelski’s power-play goal early in the second period made it 3-1.
The turning point came midway through the second period after Tolvanen scored his 14th of the season to pull Seattle to 3-2. Just 14 seconds later, Johnston outmuscled Daniel Sprong for a loose puck and found Seattle goaltender Martin Jones out of position for his 17th goal and a 4-2 Dallas lead.
“I was lucky enough to get it around the goalie and get it in as I was falling,” Johnston said.
Jones made 27 saves but looked uneasy at times, making his first start in 11 days.
Seattle lost for the fifth time in its past six home games, dropping to 16-14-4 at home this season. While the Kraken are poised to make the playoffs in their second season, their home struggles may determine whether they enter the postseason as one of the top three teams in the Pacific Division or as a wild card.
“We’ve been a group that’s been able to turn the page and return to the next job at hand,” Hakstol said. “This group has to be able to do that again.”
Game Notes
- Dallas F Tyler Seguin missed his second straight game after suffering a cut on his left leg last week against Buffalo. Seguin is expected to be out for a couple of weeks.
- Seattle’s Vince Dunn had two assists, extending his point streak to 10 games, which is the longest active streak in the league.
UP NEXT
- Stars: At Vancouver on Tuesday night.
- Kraken: At San Jose on Thursday night.
