Dallas Stars Dig In, Beat Wild 4-3 In Overtime Thriller

It was another stressful night for the Dallas Stars and their fans. But the players came up big when it mattered, and the Stars knocked off the Minnesota Wild for a 4-3 overtime win.

The national stage was not enough to rattle the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, and they followed through with their mission. Though it was not a complete 60-minute effort, the Stars did enough to seal the deal as they beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime.

Game recap

The Dallas Stars started off the game with a bit of inconsistent energy, as did the Wild. The teams traded puck possession back and forth, but neither team truly had any high quality chances early. Erik Haula opened up the scoring for the Wild, taking the 1-0 lead around five minutes in. But Alex Goligoski tied the game back up just a few minutes later. Justin Fontaine countered with a goal of his own to take the 2-1 lead.

The Stars opened up their chances and their pressure in the second period, and it helped them out. Jason Demers scored and Patrick Eaves tallied a power play goal to take the Stars first lead of the game midway through the second period. The Stars continued to own possession and keep their offensive intensity at a high.

The third period was where the Stars faded. After giving up a power play goal in the opening minutes, the Wild set the pace for the rest of the game and took the first 12 shots of the period. The Stars had some late-game heroics from Kari Lehtonen to keep the game tied and send it to overtime. Though the Wild outshot the Stars 40-30, John Klingberg came in clutch in the OT period and delivered the game-winning goal.

Thoughts and Observations

These Stars aren’t healthy for the heart

The Dallas Stars have been playing relatively well since the All-Star Break, winning three of their past four games. But all of their wins have come in about as dramatic a fashion as possible. That’s probably not the healthiest thing to indulge in if you’re a Stars fan.

Two overtime goals and some late game goaltending heroics have been the keys to the Stars success so far in February. It’s been a stressful run though, and the Stars will need to figure out how to play a 60-minute game if they want to succeed throughout the rest of the season.

Special teams are getting better, but not there yet

The Stars did a decent job tonight on the special teams side of things, going 1/3 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill. But the penalty kill ended up being what hurt them, as they gave up the lone Wild power play goal late in the game. They seem to be fixing their issues, but they still have a little ways to go before it is completely fluid.

Big players coming up at big times

Kari Lehtonen and John Klingberg were two of the Stars best players tonight. Klingberg scored his second overtime goal in the past three games, and it came on a relatively similar shot. Meanwhile, Lehtonen withstood a rapid and excessive push from the Wild throughout the third period and ended the night 37/40. It was nice to see Lehtonen bounce back after a long rest and tough break Saturday night.

More stars: Stars Updated 2016 Playoff Picture And Standings

Make dad proud

The Dallas Stars are currently hosting their annual “dad trip” and will continue it on into Thursday night before coming back home. This is a yearly occurrence where the Stars invite the fathers of each player on a typical two-game road trip for some fun and reconciliation time with their sons.

It always seems to be an enjoyable and relaxing experience, and the Stars seem to play better whenever they know that dad is watching.

See ya on the flip side, Minnesota

The Stars finished their season series against the Wild tonight with a final record of 4-1-0. What a change from years past.

The Dallas Stars will now ship off to Chicago with their heads held high and look to serve a decent dose of revenge at the United Center on Thursday night. Another Central Division game, another chance to climb the standings even more. We’ll see what happens.