At the beginning of the month, the Stars were sitting pretty.
Dallas, in second place in the Central Division and third in the league, held a six-point lead in its divisional race over 3-seed Minnesota with a game in hand. It had two games in hand over Colorado, which was vying for that third spot in the Central.
But after three road losses in the last week and a one-goal deficit entering the third period Tuesday, Dallas’ cushion appeared to be withering away.
Then Thomas Harley found the equalizing goal early in the third period to force overtime before Mikael Grandlund scored his second goal of the game halfway through the overtime period to lift Dallas to a 4-3 win. The Stars narrowly avoided losing three games in a row for the first time this season.
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The Stars maintain a four-point lead over the Central’s third-place team, Colorado, with a game in hand. The win was an important one to get the Stars back on track after losses to Edmonton, Winnipeg as well as to Colorado in overtime, but it wasn’t all that comforting for Dallas.
The Stars haven’t looked like themselves offensively as of late and have let penalties plague them in their last two contests.
They’ve given up five power plays in each of the last two games. Against Colorado, one turned into a goal by Martin Necas. Against Anaheim in the second period, the Ducks scored two goals off penalties to take the lead.
The first was on a 5-on-3 when both Mikko Rantanen and Mason Marchment were in the box. The goal scored by Leo Carlsson was originally called off by the referees for goaltender interference, but after Anaheim challenged the call, it was overturned, tying the game at 2-2.
About six minutes later, Oskar Bäck slashed Carlsson on a drive to the net. The questionable call ultimately awarded Carlsson a penalty shot, which he scored on Jake Oettinger to take the 3-2 lead.
Penalties hurt the Stars tremendously Tuesday, though they also gave Dallas its first goal of the game. Wyatt Johnston deflected Harley’s shot. Granlund scored the Stars’ second from a sharp angle in the second period.
Harley’s third-period goal allowed Granlund to add the game-winner in overtime, so the Stars could steal two points. Granlund has three goals and eight assists now in 16 games with the Stars.
The Stars’ schedule doesn’t do them any favors. They’ve looked tired in their last few games after many on the team, including Oettinger, haven’t had a break. The trip to Finland and the 4 Nations tournament have made an already long 82-game regular season seem even longer.
But the Stars are relying on a few new additions to carry them through this tough stretch. While the focus was on Rantanen making his debut at American Airlines Center Tuesday, it was Granlund, who was acquired in a trade from San Jose in early February, that was the biggest difference maker.
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