Hintz Scores Twice Late as Stars Rally Past Jets 3–2 in Overtime

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

DALLAS — Roope Hintz scored with two minutes left in regulation and again in overtime Thursday, giving the Stars a 3–2 win over Winnipeg after Stuart Skinner had kept them behind for much of the night.

Dallas outshot Winnipeg 38–19 before a sellout crowd of 18,532 at American Airlines Center. The Stars improved to 6–3–1 with their fourth straight victory and second consecutive 3–2 overtime comeback, following Tuesday’s win over Boston.

“We were the better team today,” Hintz said. “We had a lot of chances before but we just didn’t score on their goalie.”

Johnston’s first, Robertson’s 500th

Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring 1:17 into the second period with his first goal of the season. Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson assisted, giving Robertson his 500th career point in his 466th regular-season game.

Robertson became the fourth-fastest player in franchise history to reach 500 points, behind Neal Broten, Bobby Smith and Dino Ciccarelli.

“It was good. Nice to get the first one and I just have to keep it going,” Johnston said.

Dallas had outshot Winnipeg 12–6 in a scoreless first period. Johnston’s goal put the Stars ahead, but Skinner kept the deficit at one through two second-period Dallas power plays.

Winnipeg then scored twice in 1 minute, 48 seconds.

Gabriel Vilardi tied it at 10:50, finishing around Jake Oettinger’s crease with assists from Dylan Samberg and Alex Iafallo. Kyle Connor followed at 12:38, scoring his ninth goal of the season off a pass from Neal Pionk.

“We were pretty good all night. Just got a little sloppy in the second,” coach Glen Gulutzan said.

Dallas entered the third trailing 2–1 despite a 26–14 shot advantage.

Rantanen finds Hintz

“Let’s go Stars” chants rose repeatedly as Dallas pressed in the third. Skinner stopped shots from distance and covered loose pucks around the crease.

“They haven’t been coming that easy, but I think we’ve done a great job the last two games just sticking with it,” Johnston said. “Especially in those third periods, we have been really good down a goal.”

Dallas killed Tyler Seguin’s tripping penalty with 12:22 remaining, repeatedly clearing the puck to keep the deficit at one.

With 3:22 left, the Stars led shots 35–17 and still trailed.

With Oettinger pulled for an extra attacker, Rantanen worked behind Winnipeg’s net and found Hintz in front for the equalizer at 18:00. Johnston also assisted.

“He sees the ice super well,” Johnston said of Rantanen. “He is a gamebreaker that can make those plays in those big moments, and he has come up huge the last couple of games.”

Sixteen seconds later, Tyler Myers received a delay-of-game penalty for sending the puck over the glass. Dallas defended the tie through the remaining 1:44 of regulation and the first 16 seconds of overtime.

The Stars killed all four Winnipeg power plays, making them 8-for-8 over two games without injured defenseman Esa Lindell. Oettinger finished with 17 saves.

A block sets up the winner

Robertson lost possession in overtime, then recovered to block the ensuing Winnipeg shot. The puck reached Miro Heiskanen, who found Hintz alone for the winning finish at 3:47.

Heiskanen and Robertson received the assists.

“I got stripped there,” Robertson said. “Not really thinking anything other than don’t get scored on just try and not get scored on.”

Gulutzan credited Robertson’s block, Heiskanen’s patience and Hintz’s finish. He praised Robertson for recovering from his turnover and said the play showed his competitiveness and work on his two-way game.

Robertson, who loves video, came in immediately after the game to watch his block with the staff, Gulutzan said.

Skinner finished with 35 saves. Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said the goalie deserved the extra point.

“There were some breakdowns and he was there to stand tall, and I thought he did a fantastic job,” Arniel said.

Dallas heads into a scheduled day off Friday.

“It’s always nice when you buy yourself 24 hours of peace and have a day off,” Gulutzan said. “I don’t think it gets better than that in this league.”