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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Jamie Benn Hat Trick Powers Stars Past Sharks, 4-2

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

Games like last night may remind a fan why you should never really tune out the Dallas Stars. If you gave up and went to bed at 11 because you knew the San Jose Sharks already had it in the bag and were just playing with their food – well, don’t you feel silly.

You missed Gemel Smith tying the game with 5:17 left in regulation:

And you missed Jamie Benn two minutes later, mugging Tomas Hertl at his own blueline and taking the Stars’ first lead of the game:

And then you missed The Captain scoring into Martin Jones’ empty net for his first hat trick since Art Ross Night:

And you missed “Metal” Mike McKenna getting the W after coming in for an injured Kari Lehtonen.

McKenna took the ice after Kari appeared to take a puck to either his throat or his clavicle.

By the way, here’s a late update from The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro:

More Stars (while they last!)

After last night, Captain Benn made another big move on the Stars’ all-time scoring list.

Back to McKenna’s big entrance: Let’s take a look at those reaction shots.

One of the best takes came from McKenna’s wife, Rachel, once the comeback was complete:

And NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti brought the context.

By the way, Ryan Lambert has posted his HSO on the Stars’ late-season breakdown, so I’ll just leave it here.

Around the League

#Killing In the Name (of the Playoffs)

  • The Winnipeg Jets made a meal out of it with several regulars resting, but they hung in there to beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime, 5-4. [Eyes On The Prize]
  • The Nashville Predators have a playoffs spot. The Florida Panthers want one. Former Star Colton Sceviour scored the GWG and Roberto Luongo made 45 saves in a 2-1 Cats upset that keeps them alive to fight for a wild-card slot. [On The Forecheck]/

Mark your calendars: The Minnesota Wild at the Los Angeles Kings is Thursday night’s free game on NHL.tv. (One of them will lose! It’ll be neat!)

The Preds lost their shot at overtime against the Panthers due to a goalie-interference call. Mike Fisher’s wife is just one of the people who are all wadded up over it.

Slava Malamud has a modest proposal for the future:

Also at @NHLonNBC: NBCSN has documented the stunning rise of the Vegas Golden Knights in a new special. “Knight Fever” premiered last night, and ICYMI, you can catch the preview here. (They don’t use this in either of these two clips, but surely they do at some point. Surely.)

Taylor Hall is (justifiably) getting a load of credit for the New Jersey Devils’ resurgence, and for their possible return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. But backup goalie Keith Kinkaid may have saved their season, writes Jared Clinton.

Jared also looks at 10 serious Norris Trophy candidates, including John Klingberg, and tells you why they will win, and also why they’ll lose.

The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Golden Knights, but the fans only had eyes for Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, who announced their retirements on Monday. Watch the entire Vegas team linger on the ice for the ovation.

Greetings from Scenic Cedar Park (and Beautiful Boise)

Catch up with Curtis McKenzie: Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey fame has written a great update on the Stars’ sometime forward turned Texas Stars captain and All-Star.

The Dallas office has reassigned Jason Dickinson to Cedar Park as the T-Stars prepare to close the deal on a postseason spot.

If playoffs math is hard, the T-Stars’ Twitter staff has provided a guide to interpreting the results of tonight’s game against the Stockton Heat.

And with Philippe Desrosiers helping to hold down the net in Austin Metro, NCAA product Tomas Sholl has stepped up for the playoffs-bound Idaho Steelheads. The SoCal native earned four shutouts, a .965 SV%, and ECHL Goaltender of the Month honors for March.

Finally

Joe Thornton is still recovering from knee surgery, but he’s found a great rehab partner: his four-year-old son, River. Watch them skate together at a Sharks optional practice from last week – and enjoy.

Talking Points