Necas, Hurricanes defeat Stars in OT, run point streak to 6

Martin Necas scored at 1:34 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday.

Necas won it with a wrist shot from between the face-off circles. He also scored in overtime in the Hurricanes' 5-4 victory against the Stars at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Dec. 17.
"I went in the zone, cut back, saw I had a little bit of space there," Necas said. "I tried to shoot it under [Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell] stick. Luckily it went in."

Sebastian Aho scored his 200th NHL goal for the Hurricanes (30-9-8), who have won three in a row in a six-game point streak (5-0-1).
Antti Raanta made 15 saves in relief of Frederik Andersen, who allowed two goals on six shots before leaving with an upper-body injury after the first period. There was no update after the game.
"The first two periods, we were great," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Just overall, great effort, and then in overtime, nice play by 'Nechy' to win it for us. Overall, I loved the way we competed all night."
Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars (28-13-9), who have lost two in a row but extended their point streak to four games (2-0-2). Jake Oettinger made 21 saves.
"It was pretty tight checking, not a lot of room either way," Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. "It's always a surprise, as much as you talk about it when you play them, because they're as good as there is in the League at putting that offensive zone pressure on you. But I thought we adjusted to it better as the game went on.
"I think the overtime thing is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy right now. We just don't have a lot of confidence for whatever reason in overtime, so we've got to find that swagger again."

Aho's short-handed goal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 8:46 of the first period. After Brett Pesce broke up a pass in the Carolina zone, Aho gathered the puck and got loose on a breakaway before scoring five-hole on the backhand.
"He's dynamic in open ice and he can really read the play as far as that anticipation for when to pick off a pass and go the other way," Brind'Amour said. "And you're usually out there with [opponents] who really aren't thinking defense. He's a weapon there."
Johnston tied it 1-1 at 10:59. Hurricanes defenseman Dylan Coghlan failed to clear the puck on his backhand, allowing Johnston to chip it past Andersen.

Robertson put the Stars ahead 2-1 at 15:17 when his shot from behind the goal line deflected into the net off Andersen.
"They play really well. They've got a bunch of special players there, so do we," Necas said. "We stuck with it 60 minutes. We got some [bad] bounces there at the beginning, but it was a huge win."
Brent Burns tied it 2-2 at 4:55 of the second period with a slap shot off the crossbar from the top of the left face-off circle.
"They do a good job," Dallas forward Luke Glendening said. "They're a heavy, hard team. I think we are as well. Unfortunately, we didn't get the two points. Obviously we're always looking for two points, but if you can get one, you'll take it."

Raanta, playing his first game since Jan. 7, was sharp in the third period, when the Stars outshot the Hurricanes 9-6, including a right-pad save on Mason Marchment alone at the net at 17:18.
"It's always a little bit weird when you have to jump in there," Raanta said. "You just try to keep everything super simple, try to move, locate the puck, track and do the normal stuff. Today it went well. Obviously happy to get the win in relief."
NOTES: Necas set an NHL career high with 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists). … Aho reached 200 goals in 485 games, the third-fewest in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history behind Blaine Stoughton (310) and Kevin Dineen (432). … Aho's 16th short-handed goal tied Eric Staal for the most in Hurricanes/Whalers history. … Coghlan played his 100th NHL game. … Carolina improved to 16-4-6 on the road. … Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal was 16 of 23 in the face-off circle (70.0 percent). … Dallas was held to a season-low 21 shots. … Robertson has six points (four goals, two assists) in a five-game point streak.