Heika’s Take: Stars battle more adversity, pick up valuable point against Oilers

The tests keep coming for the Stars, and that means there are going to be good grades, bad grades and okay grades.

The Stars received an okay on Saturday.

Playing a talented Edmonton Oilers team, Dallas controlled some important stretches of the game, but ended up losing a 4-3 contest in overtime. Dallas moves to 34-14-7, good for 75 points (third most in the NHL).

The Oilers shift to 32-18-1, good for 65 points and are now 19-3-0 in their past 22 games.

“You had two pretty evenly matched teams. There were a lot of good players on the ice,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “It’s a big point at the end of the day against a good team, but we left a point on the table tonight. We could’ve got two, and I think our group is probably disappointed we didn’t get two, and that’s what you want out of your group.”

The Stars finished with a 27-24 advantage in shots on goal, a 55-53 edge in shot attempts, but had twice as many scoring chances as the Oilers. Still, Edmonton cashed in at the right times, including drawing a power play on the first shift of overtime.

Forward Leon Draisaitl drew a hooking penalty on Wyatt Johnston, and the Oilers scored just seven seconds into their power play. Defenseman Evan Bouchard tallied his second goal of the game just 30 seconds into the extra frame, and the home crowd was sent home sad.

Edmonton moves to 4-1 in overtime games, while Dallas falls to 7-6.

“I was just trying to help out,” Johnston said. “You don’t want to take a penalty in that situation. I just have to be better and not get tied up with him and take the penalty there.”

But that’s why these are good lessons. Dallas is 7-1-1 in its past nine games, including big wins over Carolina and Nashville this past week. Now, it will head out on a four-game road trip that has key games against the Bruins, Rangers, Senators and Hurricanes. All but Ottawa are top 10 teams in the NHL standings. Again, the tests keep coming.

“I think we’re right there,” said forward Mason Marchment, who had a goal and an assist. “I think we’re playing good hockey right now, and we just have to finish off these games.”

Dallas did a lot of good things Saturday. The two teams tested the water in a scoreless first period, and then opened things up in the second. Marchment scored on a power play off a pretty pass, and then Bouchard answered for Edmonton. Thomas Harley scored on a pretty pass from Matt Duchene, and Corey Perry answered. Then, Derek Ryan gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead, and Duchene tied it up 20 seconds later.

The third period was then scoreless as both teams tightened things up. Dallas lost Jani Hakanpää to an injury and had to play with five defensemen for the second game in a row. It was a challenge, and again, one of the things that can make the team better. Nils Lundkvist was held out of Saturday’s game with a concussion he suffered on Thursday, and Hakanpää is officially out with an upper body injury.

“It’s just being smart,” said Harley, who logged 22:31 in ice time. It’s not taking crazy chances. It’s making sure you are conserving some energy and making sure you are still defending well, and then just picking your spots up the ice.”

Dallas will have to see if either or both could be ready for a Monday afternoon game at Boston. They might have to call up a player no matter what, as they only have 12 healthy forwards right now.

“We have played two games in a row now with five defensemen for extended periods,” DeBoer said. “That is taxing on your group, especially with the schedule we have coming up here. Those guys, particularly, have to get rested up and ready to go. We have a lot of hockey in the next two weeks.”

The challenge remains, day after day, to keep things going in a positive direction.

“It’s huge. You see looking at the standings how important every point is,” said Johnston. “You want to rack them up as much as you can. This will be a big road trip, especially playing some good teams. You want to compete against the best and you want to prove yourself against the best, so it’s just fun to compete. I think we can all agree that’s what we’re here for – to compete.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.