Stars close regular season with shootout win against Sabres

BUFFALO -- Wyatt Johnston scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout to help the Dallas Stars to a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

Esa Lindell and Justin Hryckowian each had a goal and an assist, and Jake Oettinger made 21 saves for the Stars (50-20-12), who won five straight to end the regular season.

“It’s good (to end on a winning streak),” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “What I liked about our guys here tonight, though, is that we didn’t have a great first, but we wanted some habits to stay in our game. … I liked the way we dialed in a little bit in the second and third.”

The Stars finished second in the Central Division and will face the third-place Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference First Round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Zach Benson had a goal and an assist, and Owen Power had two assists for the Sabres (50-23-9), whose four-game winning streak ended. Colten Ellis made 25 saves.

“I thought it was a good effort,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “Started the game well. I thought overall we did a lot of good things in that game. Made a few mistakes that cost us goals, handed them a couple of goals. But we had a great opportunity late to win it and then a couple of opportunities in overtime.”

The Sabres won the Atlantic Division and will face the Boston Bruins, the first wild card, in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Mavrik Bourque gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the first period with his 20th goal of the season. Lindell’s shot from the left point bounced off the end boards and out the opposite side for Bourque, who was on the doorstep.

“He’s playing unbelievable,” Hryckowian said of Bourque. “I think the whole locker room’s just so fired up for him. Just an unreal teammate, obviously a great player. He’s been working for it for a long time and he’s waited his turn, and I feel like he’s having his moment now and the best is yet to come still.”

Josh Norris tied it 1-1 when he took a pass from Benson on the rush and roofed a wrist shot from the left circle over Oettinger’s left shoulder and under the bar at 12:48.

Benson scored on a short-handed breakaway to put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 3:32 of the second period. Tyson Kozak dived to push the puck up for Benson, who skated in and beat Oettinger blocker side.

“I stayed confident, and obviously, when your team’s having success, everyone’s going to have individual success,” said Benson, who ended the season with seven points (three goals, four assists) on a five-game point streak. “That’s the biggest this year is so many guys are having career years. That’s kind of the main reason our team is where we’re at.”

Lindell tied it 2-2 on the same power play. His pass attempt for Jamie Benn on the back door went off Logan Stanley’s skate and into the net at 4:24.

Alex Tuch’s 200th NHL goal made it 3-2 Sabres at 11:09. Tanner Pearson backhanded the puck behind the back of the net for Tuch, who banked it off Oettinger’s right arm from the goal line.

Hryckowian beat Ellis five-hole with a wrist shot from the left circle on a 2-on-1 with Benn to tie it 3-3 at 16:00. The play started when he intercepted a Kozak back pass inside the Dallas blue line.

“Just an odd-man rush and saw Jamie joining and kind of sucked the [defenseman] away from me and towards him, and just kind of tried to pick my spot,” Hryckowian said.

NOTES: The Stars reached 50 wins for the third consecutive season, marking the longest such run in their history. … Dallas forward Sam Steel played 15:43 and had two hits in his return after missing nine games with an undisclosed injury. … Benson’s assist on Norris’ goal was his 100th career point. He’s the fifth youngest player in Sabres history to reach the milestone after Pierre Turgeon, Phil Housley, Jack Eichel and Dave Andreychuk.