With the help of Wyatt Johnston, the Stars defeated Ottawa at home Sunday night and extended their win streak.
The evening started quietly, with an even first period that left both teams scoreless. It gave way to an eventful second period that was anything but quiet.
Just under two minutes in, Mavrik Bourque kicked off scoring after an assist from Ilya Lyubushkin and Oskar Bäck. It was his 100th NHL career game and fourth goal of the season.
In response, Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson got the Senators on the board a few minutes later when he went five-hole on goalie Casey DeSmith. With the score tied, the game’s tempo picked up. Jason Robertson, who has been on a goal-scoring tear, knocked an unassisted goal into the net under a minute later and brought his season tally up to 16 goals.
The Senators had a chance to respond when Dallas defenseman Kyle Capobianco got banished to the box for interference, but the Stars’ defense killed the penalty and left the score at 2-1.
In what would be his first of three in the night, Wyatt Johnston put up his 14th goal of the season after a behind-the-net pass from Mikko Rantanen allowed him to whip the puck past goalie Linus Ullmark’s glove side.
“He’s just an awesome player. He sees the ice so well,” Johnston said on Rantanen. “…Not many guys can see plays that he sees… I try to be ready to shoot at all times, like that first one. Just an awesome play fby him from behind the net to find me.”
As the period winded down, Lian Bischel collided with the boards and had to be helped off the ice. The young defenseman seemed unable to put a lot of weight on his left leg. Head coach Glen Gulutzan said he will be evaluated tomorrow, and the hope is that the injury will not be as bad as they first thought.
Despite that bump in the road, Gulutzan felt this game was the most complete one of the year.
“The big four. Goaltending was great. PP was great. The PK was real solid. I thought our five on five play was probably the best of the year defensively,” Gulutzan said. “When you get those four things all working, its hard to beat.”
The third period opened up with a couple penalties. Miro Heiskanen went to the box for holding and as that Ottawa power play winded down, Sam Steel drew a tripping penalty. And Johnston, who now leads the league with 12 power play goals, took full advantage. The forward got another assist from Rantanen and put up his second goal of the game.
Dallas kept the momentum going. Jamie Benn scored shortly after, and Rantanen picked up his third assist of the game. With the score at 5-1, the Senators’ tempers seemed to rise. Dylan Cozens’ hit on Roope Hintz resulted in a scuffle, leaving both number 24 players kneeling on the ice. The officials awarded Ottawa a double minor for roughing and Dallas a minor for roughing as well.
Though Dallas did not score on that penalty, they got another chance when Rantanen got tripped up by Michael Amadio. And as if on cue, Johnston slapped in his third goal of the game and logged his first hat trick of the season. Fans sent their hats flying onto the ice, and Johnston was all smiles as his teammates congratulated him.
“He doesn’t need many chances on power plays,” Rantanen said about Johnston. “He had two chances (and) two goals. He’s very good in tight areas and he can shoot the puck. Really important in our power play.”
The Stars will head to the east coast for a back-to-back matchup with the New York Rangers Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT and the New Jersey Devils Wednseday night at 6 p.m. CT.