Stars overcome three-goal deficit to stun Canadiens in OT

MONTREAL --"Imperturbable."

"De'Cousu."
"Dur."
Unflappable.
Scrappy.

Tough.
In any language, the Stars are pretty resilient.
For the ninth time this season, Dallas came back from a third-period deficit to steal a victory -- this one coming in 4-3 fashion over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre Saturday night. It might have been the best comeback so far. Not only did they rebound from a 3-0 hole in the second period, they drew within one point of first place in the Western Conference and they did it on a spectacular Tyler Seguin overtime goal.
WATCH: [All highlights from Stars' come-from-behind win over Canadiens]
It was a microcosm of the entire season. Seguin had to stay patient throughout a 17-game goal drought, the longest in his career. Ben Bishop had to bow up and tell himself the Canadiens were not going to run away with this game when he was down three goals. And the Stars as a team had to fight the urge to do too much. Instead, each player showed a tough mind and a commitment to team play en route to the win.
"There's times you know when your team is in a bit of a panic, and there was no sense of that tonight at all," said Stars interim coach Rick Bowness. "The guys were confident that when it went 3-0 that if we got the next one, we'd be back in the game. It's a confident group, it doesn't get rattled. We're a good team, and we can come back."

There has been plenty of adversity for the Stars this year and plenty of emotion, and that has produced a pretty hardened group. So while it would have been easy to throw in the towel and start looking forward to the end of the road trip Sunday in Ottawa, the Stars decided to push back against a spirited Montreal squad and a revved-up arena.
After the Canadiens went up 3-0 six minutes into the second period, Joe Pavelski stole a puck on the forecheck and fed Mattias Janmark for a tap-in goal. It was just enough oxygen to get the Stars started and to make Montreal hesitate. Then, Seguin scored on the power play -- his second man-advantage goal in two games and just his third on the year -- and Dallas had its stride back later in the second period.
"We've been doing it all season, so I don't think there's any doubt in this room whenever we get down," said Bishop, who had 29 saves. "It's kind of the way we play. We stick to our system. They got a couple of lucky bounces to get their goals, and I don't think anyone was too worried."
Bishop said he told himself: "I think when it got to three, I was like, 'OK, that's it, no more.' "
That goalie play been a huge part of the comeback history this season, but so has the team play. The Stars are one of the best defensive teams in the league and they continue to rely on their defense even when they're behind. Bowness said the team wants to play "the right way," whether it is on the road or at home or whether it is trailing or leading.

"One thing that we've done really well is we don't open up," said Pavelski, who had two assists in the game. "We still stay patient, our game doesn't change a whole lot."
Pavelski missed two games because of an upper body injury, but in his return he helped drive a line with Mattias Janmark and rookie Jason Robertson. He played 17:03 and had three shots on goal to go with his two assists. Andrej Sekera came back into the lineup and logged 16:25 and was plus-1. Robertson played 13:38 in his second NHL game and had three shots on goal. Radek Faksa led the checking line and won eight of nine faceoffs. The Canadiens were credited with 25 giveaways -- often forced by a hard Stars forecheck -- while Dallas was marked with just six.
It was just a bunch of little things that all added up.
Now, the game was not without controversy. Dallas was not given a penalty, and Montreal coach Claude Julien

. However, the Stars kept their head down and played their game.
Blake Comeau flung a puck from the boards on net that tied things up at the 9:08 mark of the third period and that allowed Dallas to get the game to overtime. There, Bishop came up with two huge saves, and Seguin took off on run up ice where he beat his coverage and made a slick move to his backhand. It was his 14th goal on the year and his eight overall in overtime with Dallas.

It was the kind of move that Seguin had not been making during his goal drought.
"That was a highlight-reel goal. You score those when you're feeling it. When the puck's not going in, you don't even try those," Bowness said. "But when you're feeling it and the confidence is back, and the poise comes back, you try those plays. Good for him, I'm thrilled for him."
It was the kind of move that makes you think he could really be breaking out as he has three goals in the past two games.
"It's huge. I'm sure for his confidence it's huge, and for the team, too," said Comeau.
"We're going to be a tough team to beat when he's producing. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, and for him to go through what he was going through with the goal drought, he was pressing. But he's so talented, so we knew it was just going to be a matter of time before he was going to start scoring."

You could even call it "crasseaux" -- filthy.
Dallas is one point behind St. Louis for first place in the West and one place ahead of Colorado. As the trio heads toward the trade deadline and the home stretch, it really does look like anybody can take the top seed.
"It's an exciting time of year," said Comeau. "I think everyone knows we're in a dogfight and that's a position you want to be in."
They certainly seem to have the mindset to handle the pressure that comes with this race.
The French have a word for it -- "calme."
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.