Robertson scores in OT, Stars rally past Flames

DALLAS -- Jason Robertson scored his second goal of the game with 43 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

The goal came right after Calgary forward Nazem Kadri had a chance to win the game on a shot that ended up ringing off the post instead.

“Thank God it hit the post,” Robertson said. “[We] trust that Jake [Oettinger]’s going to come out and make a save or at least force them to make a bad shot. It’s overtime, it happens. It goes back and forth. Someone hits the post, someone goes back the other way. It’s hockey. That’s why everyone loves 3-on-3.”

Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist and Roope Hintz had two assists for Dallas (41-19-2), which has won 13 of its past 17 games (13-3-1). Oettinger made 26 saves.

“I don’t think we’ve been as good maybe the last few games as we’re capable of. I think there might be a little bit of fatigue playing into that. That’s the nice thing, we’re winning games still not with our best,” Dallas forward Matt Duchene said. “We’re not satisfied. We want to be better. We’re happy with the win tonight but we’re not satisfied with the game. That’s the way winning teams have to be.”

Joel Farabee and Mikael Backlund each scored and Dan Vladar made 24 saves for Calgary (29-23-10).

“I thought we played a good game. We knew [Dallas] was going to play with some pace. They are a very skilled team, and they are rolling right now, so I thought we did a really good job right away,” Backlund said. “We played a solid game all night, and Vladař played really well for us too, and made some big saves. It’s a tough one, but we have to move on. Tomorrow is a new day, and we have to focus on the next game and try to win that one.”

Farabee gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 2:13 of the first period on a shot from the slot after skating around the attempted shot block of Dallas defender Lian Bichsel.

“That happens to some of the best players in the world, just watch the highlights on TV every night. When you stick, especially young players, in the lineup you have to expect them, once in a while they’re going to have some growing pains and they’re going to have to learn some hard lessons on the fly,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s a confident kid, it didn’t affect him. Some guys would carry that around, and it might affect them all night. I thought he shook it off pretty quickly and got right back at it on the next shift.”

Backlund made it 2-0 at 2:29 of the second period on a rebound in the slot, snapping a 15-game goalless streak.

“Definitely a tough road trip. It was the last game of a long one, and sometimes those are the hardest. [Dallas] is a really good team and this building gets rocking. There were a lot of momentum swings, and I thought we played a pretty good game,” Farabee said. “We hit three posts in overtime, and it could’ve gone either way. I liked the effort, and it would’ve been really nice to have two points, but at the end of the day it is a big point.”

Johnston extended his point streak to eight games when he cut the lead to 2-1 at 4:06, pouncing on the rebound of a Mathew Dumba point shot. He has 14 points in that span (eight goals, six assists).

“I think just the belief in the group and obviously the leadership we have [keeps us calm],” Johnston said. “There’s just no panic, no matter the situation we’re in we just feel we can get the win, you know, whatever that situation is so it's just kind of sticking with it and if you do all the right things, things will eventually go your way.”

Robertson tied it 2-2 at 9:00 of the third period on a shot from the top of the left face-off circle.

“We need more than .500 the rest of the way I feel like if we are going to get ourselves to where we want to be, but these were tough teams that we played. There was a lot of miles put on this trip for us, and for the last game of the trip to play against a team of their quality I was pleased with the guys’ preparation and their work ethic tonight, so we will take it,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “Now the most important game of the year becomes our next one in Calgary.”

NOTES: Dallas completed a 4-0-0 homestand and has won its past seven home games. The Stars are also tied for the NHL lead with 24 home wins. ... Hintz extended his point streak to six games (16 points; three goals, 13 assists).