In Dallas, Jason Robertson scored off the power with four gone in the third period on Saturday to get the Stars even, 2-2, with the visiting San Jose Sharks.
Jamie Benn ended the affair with the deciding goal on penalties for a 3-2 win to Dallas.
Benn scored in the seventh round of skills.
“We try not to get to that position (of trailing), but we responded,” Robertson said. “We tied the game, got a massive [penalty] kill in overtime. Everyone stuck with it, and we got it done.”
Jake Oettinger made 21 saves in the win.
The Stars improved to 37-17-9.
“Those are important points. You don’t get extra points for how pretty it was,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “[The Sharks] were opportunistic and their goalie was good. When you have that combination, you have a chance to beat anyone on any night. That’s the beauty of the NHL, the parity night to night. You can’t take anybody for granted. Their goalie made some saves, and we were chasing the game tonight because of that. But we stuck with it and found a way.”
San Jose took a 1-0 lead in the game on a marker from William Eklund at 4:39 of the opening stanza.
“With [Eklund], he likes to have [the puck] behind the goal line. I like to find that quiet pocket of ice and try to get my shot off and play in that little house in front of the net,” said Sharks forward Luke Kunin, who had two assists. “That give-and-go hockey off the rush, even on his goal, you saw that. [We’re] getting more and more confident with each other and making plays. Nice to see a few go in for us.”
The Stars tied the game, 1-1, on a strike by Radek Faksa at 3:08 of the middle frame.
“I just told myself I’d drive to the net every time and hope for a bounce,” Faksa said. “[Getting chances but not scoring] is frustrating. That little bounce can help toward the end of the season. It was a tough battle with San Jose tonight. We’re happy we won because it was a tough battle.”
The Sharks dropped to 15-38-6 off their seventh loss in eight matches.
“Against a team that can get to the net and really make it hard on you, I thought we defended around our net really well,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “Other than that blitz in the second period where they kind of came hard I thought we managed the game well. It was an up-and-down game, an even game in a lot of ways in those areas. I thought we managed the third period way better and didn’t give up a lot of crazy chances. It was a step forward for us, for sure.”
The Sharks reclaimed the lead, 2-1, on a goal by Filip Zadina at 17:08 of the second period. The game continued to play without a goal light being lit. After a review in Toronto, the goal was awarded
“That goal, I saw the puck going towards the line. I saw it went behind [Oettinger], but I wasn’t really sure if it crossed the whole line,” Zadina said. “It did, so I’m really glad for that, but it didn’t help us win the game.”
Magnus Chrona, was recalled from the Barracuda of the American Hockey League, made 36 saves in the loss.
“I was enjoying every second of it. I was loving hockey out there, and it was just awesome to be out there,” Chrona said. “[Playing in the NHL] means a lot, especially all the work I’ve put in since I was drafted. It’s a great building block for me. My teammates here did a great job of preparing me, same with the goaltending staff. They played great in front of me and made my job a little bit easier tonight.”
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