The Dallas Stars ended their three-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime thriller over the Montreal Canadiens.
John Klingberg played hero. Radek Faksa got a monkey off his back. Jake Oettinger continues to set the bar as he shoulders the starters workload. This game had it all.
Oettinger had to come up big for the Stars, with the Canadiens making a push in the first period. On the other end, Jake Allen had to come up big as the Stars made pushes of their own. For a while early on in this game, it seemed like we were destined to watch a goaltender dual.
Until there was less than a minute and a half left in the period.
Radek Faksa capitalized on a pass by Michael Raffl past Allen’s skate to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. The goal ended a 40-game scoreless drought by the forward. Though he isn’t really in the lineup for goal scoring but more for the two-way game he is known for, that kind of scoreless streak has a way of weighing on a player. Dallas went into the second period with a 1-0 lead.
Cole Caufield scored his fourth goal in three games to tie it at one on a power play goal midway through the period. Jamie Benn restored the lead a few minutes later in what ended up becoming a bit of a track meet. Though the action felt even, Natural Stat Trick showed the Stars with the better of the high danger chances through two periods. The 2-1 score heading into the third period seemed to reflect that, too.
Then, the Canadiens that seemingly don’t know how to quit since Marty St. Louis became bench boss, used the momentum of a 4-on-4 goal scored by Nick Suzuki to tie the game to take their first lead. Corey Schueneman scored his first NHL goal to make it 3-2.
For about two minutes, it seemed like that would be enough to get Montreal a win.
Instead, John Klingberg took advantage of some scrambling by the Habs in their own end to fire a shot from the point that was laser-focused and didn’t miss the mark. He tied the game 3-3, and after a failed late-game power play did not convert, his goal is what secured the Stars a point in this one.
Much like his career, you take the good with the bad with offensive defensemen. Klingberg committed a hooking penalty, giving Montreal’s power play a chance to win it in overtime. Luckily, Dallas survived that man advantage without giving one up.
And not long after that penalty expired, Klingberg called game.
21 Game Winning Goals for @johnklingberg.
The most by a defenseman in franchise history. 👏 pic.twitter.com/028Ef1geMb
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 18, 2022
The homegrown defenseman surpassed legends like Sergei Zubov to set a franchise record for game winning goals by a blueliner with his 21st.
Dallas takes two full points, moving them back into the second Wild Card spot with 69 points in 59 games played. They still have games in hand on most of the teams around and in front of them. But it doesn’t matter unless they can find ways to get more wins on this road trip and take advantage to gain ground.