Recap: Stars live to fight another day with 4-2 win over Flames in Game 6

DALLAS -- Maybe adversity brings out the best in the Stars, after all.
Facing a must-win scenario, the Stars delivered their best performance of the series, defeating the Calgary Flames 4-2 in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday in Calgary. The Stars played with tenacity and desperation, dishing out a whopping 38 hits, registering 20 blocks and recording 40 shots on goal.

The Stars needed a big game from their big guns, and it was Roope Hintz that got them on the board at the 14:52 mark of the first period with assists from two familiar faces.
Reunited with Hintz and Joe Pavelski early in the game, Jason Robertson spotted Pavelski at the far side and sent a pass his way. Pavelski picked it up, entered the zone and dropped it to Hintz, who raced in and fired a shot through the five hole to send a sell-out crowd of 18,532 into a frenzy.

In all but one game in this series has the team that scored first won the game, so it was no doubt a great sign for the Stars to strike first even if they lost Game 5 after scoring first. Not only did it get the crowd going, but it gave the Stars added life.
On this night, the Stars got production up and down the lineup.
Joel Kiviranta didn't get credit for the Stars' second goal, but it was his dogged effort to win a puck battle in the zone that led to Michael Raffl doubling Dallas' lead 6:04 into the middle frame.

The Flames, however, wouldn't go down without a fight.
Trailing by two in the second period, they scored twice on unanswered goals from Michael Stone and Mikael Backlund less than four minutes apart. But just when it seemed like the Flames would harness the momentum, Miro Heiskanen stepped up with 2:28 remaining in the middle frame.
Making his patented cut to the inside, Heiskanen undressed Matthew Tkachuk with a quick deke to free up enough space to send a wrist shot through traffic past Jacob Markstrom to give Dallas a 3-2 lead. It was a dazzling sequence for the 22-year-old defenseman, who got his first goal of the series.

From there, the Stars kept their foot on the gas. What transpired in the third period of Game 5 when they allowed the Flames to dictate the play didn't happen in Game 6. Instead, Dallas kept attacking and was rewarded late in the game when Tyler Seguin scored an empty netter to put the contest away.

The Stars wouldn't have forced a Game 7 without another outstanding performance from Jake Oettinger. Of his 36 saves, 18 came in the first period alone. After giving up two goals on nine shots in the middle frame, Oettinger stopped all 11 in the final frame for his third win of the series.
Game 7 is set for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. CT with local TV coverage on Bally Sports Southwest and nationally in the U.S. on ESPN2. The game will also be broadcast on 96.7-FM/1310-AM The Ticket.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.