Stars rally past Oilers for 5-3 win

In Dallas, Evander Kane and Leon Draisaitl scored in the third period for the Edmonton Oilers to give them a 3-2 lead over the Dallas Stars.

Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov scored just 24 seconds apart to rally the Stars to a 4-3 lead, and an eventual 5-3 win on Tuesday night.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t walk out of here with points,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “But these are the types of games that we should expect as we head down the stretch here. Nobody is giving points away, especially the teams that are fighting for playoff spots. They’re punching back when they’re down.”

Jake Oettinger made 22 saves in the Dallas win.

“The guys were confident on the bench that we were playing well,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “Because of the looks we had in the second period, we knew we were going to get some opportunities to stay in the fight. We had some players go out there and they were determined to make a difference in the outcome of the game, and they did. It was a great hockey game.”

Tyler Seguin, Jason Robertson, and Joe Pavelski also scored for the Stars.

“It’s big to win games,” Seguin said. “… We’ve been saying since Day One our team is really good on paper, we could be up there with the best in the league. Paper doesn’t mean anything. It’s about putting it all together at the right time.”

Kailer Yamamoto had a goal in the Oilers loss.

“I thought it was a good game,” Draisaitl said. “Obviously, we could have been a little sharper on those plays at the end there. But the desperation level is high with a lot of teams right now, so just a couple of mistakes, that can’t happen. All in all, pretty solid effort again.”

The Oilers dropped to 35-24-5.

“It was hard fought there,” Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “There’s a lot of swings in the game. But when there’s five minutes left and you’re up one, you can’t put yourself in those type of situations where you’ve always got to make saves in the situations that we did.”

Dallas moved to 35-24-3.

“We’re never satisfied with where we are,” Robertson said. “But I’ll tell you what, these games are special. These games are fun to play in. It’s a privilege to be on such a team that allows you to be in these tight games. I know some teams are out of it right now, and that would [stink], but we’re in the thick of it. Everyone is emotionally involved, and these games are fun to play in.”

Mikko Koskinen made 23 saves in the Edmonton loss.