Honks Stars Coyotes

DALLAS -- Julius Honka scored with 1:15 remaining in overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Honka's first NHL goal came on a slap shot from the slot.

WATCH: All Coyotes vs. Stars highlights
"It feels good," Honka said. "This time I've been up here I've had lots of chances, I'm happy it ended up like this. First goal. Overtime."
Antti Niemi made 24 saves for Dallas (33-36-11).
Brett Ritchie gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 13:54 of the first period after a giveaway by Tony DeAngelo in front of the net. Christian Dvorak won a faceoff back to DeAngelo, who inadvertently passed the puck to Ritchie, who scored his 16th goal of the season.
The Stars took a 2-0 lead at 17:12 of the first period. Adam Cracknell forced a turnover and Jason Dickinson scored on a wrist shot for his first goal of the season.
"Honestly I was going to take it backside and take it to my backhand, but he seemed to freeze as I made that little hesitation and the low blocker just opened up for me," Dickinson said.

On the next shift, Dvorak scored on a rebound to make it 2-1 at 17:24.
Dallas had a several chances to extend its lead in the second period, but Radek Faksa's shot at an open net was blocked by Peter Holland, and Jason Spezza hit the crossbar.
Arizona tied the game 2-2 at 15:33 of the third period when Anthony Duclair scored off a pass from Max Domi from behind the net.
"He's got to have something positive come out of the year," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said of Duclair, who has five goals in 56 games. "One the things he needs to bring to our team is scoring, so it's good to see him get on the board a couple times. Hopefully, he can continue that and finish the regular year strong."
Mike Smith 28 saves for Arizona (29-41-10).

Goal of the game

Duclair's goal came on perfect pass from Domi, who set up position behind the net and slid a pass through to the front of the net.

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Save of the game

Niemi slid from right to left and made a left pad save on Tobias Rieder 39 seconds into overtime.

Highlight of the game

Honka's game-winning goal came after a dominant shift alongside Gemel Smith and Spezza. The Stars pinned the Coyotes in the zone and finally capitalized on Honka's blast.

Unsung performance of the game

Defensemen Kevin Connauton and Alex Goligoski combined for seven blocked shots for the Coyotes.

They said it

"We're looking for our young players to keep playing, keep pushing. We've had 11 rookies playing on our team this year. We're at a point in our organization where we know we have to go with these young guys. Every chance they get to grow and become better players, that's what we have to do. We're pushing them hard, our veterans have done a nice job of pushing them also." -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett
"That is big. Those guys have been playing well for us since they've been up and playing with a lot of confidence. To finish one off like that, that's a big goal for [Honka] there at the end. It's a good way to get your first one." -- Stars forward Brett Ritchie

Need to know

Coyotes right wing Radim Vrbata missed the game because of a lower-body injury. Vrbata played in the Coyotes' first 79 games this season and has 53 points. … Coyotes captain Shane Doan missed the game because of a lower-body injury. … Stars coach Lindy Ruff said forwards Ales Hemsky and Jiri Hudler will each miss the remainder of the season due to injury.

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What's next

Coyotes: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, SNP,
NHL.TV
)
Stars: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-TN,
NHL.TV
)