Heika’s Take: Stars’ spectacular run continues with crazy win over Devils

The Stars have been on a roll for a while, leading the NHL in wins and goals since Jan. 1.

But Tuesday’s 4-3 victory over New Jersey brought the positivity to a whole new level.

Thomas Harley scored with 4.8 seconds remaining to give the lads in Victory Green a statement type of game. Not only did the shot add to the legend of Harley, who has been spectacular since winning a gold medal at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but it was a shining example of just what this team can do when it faces adversity. New Jersey pushed hard and erased a two-goal deficit in the final eight minutes of the game, but Casey DeSmith kept the Stars from completely unraveling, and Harley came up big.

Mix in the fact that the power play keeps humming along, Roope Hintz (1 goal, 2 assists) and Wyatt Johnston (1 goal, 1 assist) continue to pocket handfuls of points, and Ilya Lyubushkin scored his first goal in 147 games, and you have a pretty happy night at American Airlines Center.

“Over a long season you don't want to be doing that every night, but we did some good things to build the 3-1 lead,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “They made us earn it. We found a way like we've done most of the year.”

The Stars have been in the middle of a fair bit of chaos coming off of the 4 Nations break, but that’s to be expected. They played three road games in four nights, and then found a way to beat St. Louis on Sunday by scoring four power play goals despite getting badly outshot. Each game, it seems somebody is stepping up, and that happened again on Tuesday.

Johnston started the game with a bang, as he picked off a pass in the defensive end, blasted up ice and beat Jacob Markström for his 22nd goal of the season. Dallas had a chance to add to that, but Markström was incredible in denying Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov and Johnston again to keep it 1-0 after 20 minutes.

Lyubushkin made it 2-0 six minutes into the second period as he was sprung in transition and then picked a corner. It was his first goal with the Stars and first since March 15, 2023. The team clearly understood the weight of the moment and celebrated in a big way.

“You could see the reaction on the bench,” DeBoer said. “The guys were just ecstatic for him. He's one of those guys that does so much unheralded work. He shows up, practices hard and plays hard. He does a lot of dirty, gritty work that doesn't get noticed a lot. When a guy like that gets a goal, the whole group is excited for him. You saw the reaction on the bench.”

Lyubushkin, who signed a free agent contract with the Stars last summer, said he has enjoyed his time in Dallas. The 30-year-old has six goals in 412 NHL games, but that’s not his main purpose.

“It's great. A great feeling,” he said. “But more important that we win tonight for our team. For me, it's a bonus to score some goals, but I play my game and am important in other ways. It's my game.”

New Jersey cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, but then the Stars power play came up big again. The man advantage has been top three in the league for the past two months, so when it was given a two-man advantage late in the second period, there was a real feeling of opportunity.

“There are definitely some different looks we want to get,” said Johnston. “If we can get it to the guy sitting in the middle of the ice, that’s a high percentage for us. It was huge, we needed it.”

Harley fed Johnston at the goal line, and Johnston quickly tapped the puck to Hintz, who fired it into the net with 13 seconds left in the period. That gave Dallas a 3-1 lead and the momentum to withstand a significant push from the hungry Devils in the third period.

New Jersey had a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal in the third and got goals from Nico Hischier and Brett Pesce to tie things up with four minutes left in regulation. It sure looked like the game was headed for overtime, but the Stars made one last push. After a New Jersey icing with 15 seconds remaining, Harley took a pass from Jason Robertson, skated into the left circle and fired a shot through a Mikael Granlund screen for the winner. It was a huge moment for Harley, and for the team.

“It was a little closer than we would’ve liked, but at the end of the day we got two points and that’s all that matters,” said Harley.

DeSmith continues to be a model backup goalie after signing with the Stars in the summer. He is 9-2-0 in his past 11 decisions with a 2.32 GAA and .922 save percentage. That’s just part of the “finding ways to win” mantra.

The Stars are now 40-19-2, good for 82 points. They are just six points behind Winnipeg with one game in hand, courtesy of the recent run of 18-6-1.

“It’s really important,” said Johnston. “Every point is so important. You’ve got to win all sorts of ways, and tonight was an example of that.”

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 X @MikeHeika.