Heika's Take: One bite at a time

In some ways, it was a nibble. In other ways, it was a chomp.

Either way, the Stars took their first bite of the elephant on Thursday.

Trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in an NHL conference final, Dallas grabbed a 3-2 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at American Airlines Center and kept alive their hope of a miraculous comeback. Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal 3:18 into the extra frame and Jason Robertson finished with two goals to help the Stars win for the first time in playoff overtime this season.

"We had a great mindset tonight," said Stars coach Pete DeBoer, who has used the old adage that the best way to eat an elephant (or accomplish a huge task) is one bite at a time. "We had great energy, great focus. We don't feel like we should have been down 3-0, so we wanted to make sure we took care of business. We did, and now we have to do it again."

The Stars will play Game 5 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Pavelski's goal was a great example of the team's resilience in the postseason. It started when Ty Dellandrea drew a high stick to put the Stars on the power play early in the extra session. Dellandrea has been on the wrong side of penalties at times in the postseason, so in getting to the net and battling for position, he earned the man advantage for his teammates. Then, when Dallas was given the opportunity to end the overtime quickly, they did just that.

"We haven't had the greatest success in overtime," Pavelski said of the team being 0-4, including 0-2 in this series before Thursday. "It was a moment where we wanted to attack. There was a little bit of pressure there for us, and I think when that penalty happened, you know it's a great opportunity. It probably wasn't the cleanest of PPs to start, but we retrieved a puck or two and found a little space and it was nice to see that one go in."

Roope Hintz made a nice play at the front of the net that was stopped by Vegas goalie Adin Hill, but Hintz tipped the rebound behind the net and then chased it down on the other side. Hintz sent the puck out to Miro Heiskanen at the point and Heiskanen sent it over to Pavelski in the left circle for a one-timer. Pavelski, 38, now leads all active NHL players in career playoff goals at 73.

"He's ageless," said DeBoer, who also coached Pavelski in San Jose. "What do you say about him? I've seen that movie over and over again and it never gets old. He lives for those moments, he wants to be in those situations, always has, and delivers almost every time."

The game was a fierce battle, as Vegas took an early 1-0 lead on a William Karlsson goal 4:17 into the game. Dallas then responded with desperate play for a long stretch, which resulted in a 2-2 tie after two periods. Robertson scored an incredible power play goal in the first period by tapping a puck out of Hill's glove, and as the puck was in the air, he bunted it into the net for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

"You kind of just fight for that puck, and I got a couple of bounces," Robertson said. "It was nice to see it finally go in. You work for those bounces. I've been working really hard, and I want to continue that."

His sixth goal was of the more routine variety, as he shoveled in a backhand off a rebound. Robertson finished with 11 shots on goal and returned to the high-volume shooter that allowed him to tally 109 points during the regular season. It has been a frustrating playoff for Robertson at times, but this was truly a breakout performance.

"Some guys needed to step up in Jamie Benn's absence," Robertson said of the fact the Stars captain was suspended for two games after a cross-checking incident in Game 3. "We're looking for some goals and that's kind of a responsibility I put on myself. I know these playoffs have been tough, but I play with too good of players not to create chances and opportunities, to create bounces. You just have to keep working for it and they're going to come. And when you get that opportunity, you've got to finish it."

Dallas finished with a 42-39 edge in shots on goal, a 70-66 advantage in shot attempts and a big edge in quality scoring chances. The Stars also had a 46-23 edge in the faceoff circle, which was a major achievement as they were missing their leading faceoff man in Benn. Dellandrea went 6-1 in the faceoff circle, had four hits and five shot attempts. Meanwhile, in his first ever playoff game, Fredrik Olofsson had five shots on goal in 10:04 of ice time.

"You take two top six wingers out of your lineup, and I thought everyone picked up the slack," DeBoer said of Benn and injured forward Evgenii Dadonov being out. "We got some great contributions from everyone who jumped in the lineup."

Jake Oettinger had a great bounce-back game after being pulled in Game 3, and DeBoer said that was expected.

"Great response," DeBoer said. "Jake has been that guy all year. Every time our team has stumbled, every time he has stumbled, his response was exactly like it was tonight. So, I had no doubt that was what we were going to get and I don't think you've seen the best of him yet."

And for now, the team will work on that next bite of the elephant.

"It's a tremendous feeling for sure," Pavelski said of getting an overtime win and keeping the series alive. "I'm glad that we can play another game, go from there and try to extend it. They've won a couple of overtime games from us, it's been a tight series, so we need to just keep staying with that mindset. There were a lot of sacrifices from guys tonight, some big blocks along the way and key saves, and fun moments. Now, we've got to go out and do it again."

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

Video: DeBoer on keeping his group calm after the first goal is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika