Heika’s Take: Resilience shines through again as Stars rally to defeat Penguins

The Stars did it again on Sunday.

After playing a game where they were outmatched at times and probably would have understood taking no points, the lads in Victory Green rallied late in regulation and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, in a shootout. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but nobody was complaining.

“It wasn't our best game,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “I thought they were better than us 5-on-5, especially in the second period. We actually didn't generate a ton. There's been a couple of times in the last week, I think the New York Rangers game was a little bit similar to this. We've got to find our footing here.”

And yet the view where they stand is pretty good. Dallas is now 20-5-5 with the team on an 8-0-2 point streak. It is getting fantastic play from its best players and solid play from its grinders, and that is why it is winning.

Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots in regulation and overtime, and three more in the shootout. He is now 6-0-0 in his past six starts with a 1.82 GAA and .934 save percentage. Miro Heiskanen tied the game with the goalie pulled and now has goals in three straight games for the first time in his career. He has 20 points in his past 18 games. And Mikko Rantanen tallied the shootout winner. He leads the Stars with 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) and has made an impact in pretty much every game this season.

That said, Dallas was outshot, 29-23, and also lost the shot attempt battle, 69-55, and was credited with 23 giveaways. And yet, the Stars came up with the big plays when they needed the big plays.

“I think in those moments where you have a lot of games and might not have the legs, you have to lean on your system and try to play good sound defensive hockey and limit the chances for the other team,” Rantanen said. “And then just try to capitalize when we get chances. Kind of like we did today. In the third, we had more looks than we did early, and a little more urgency when we were down one goal and the clock was running down. We will take the win, but we have to be better.”

Which is a lovely place to be as a team. They have motivation to get better, and yet they also are pretty good right now.

The trio of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn opened the scoring for the Stars, as Robertson and Hintz set Benn up for his fourth goal in 11 games since returning from a collapsed lung.

After Dallas tied it up 1-1, the Penguins scored to take the lead later in the second period, and it looked like Pittsburgh was going to be able to ride that out. But Dallas pulled its goalie and Heiskanen blasted a shot through a crowd with 1:59 left in regulation.

Both teams had some great chances in a frenzied overtime, and then Rantanen was the only player to score in the shootout.

It was a pleasing finish for the Sunday crowd.

“It was way more fun to be a part of it and being on the ice and being on the bench than sitting in the room and watching the guys battle,” said defenseman Nils Lundkvist, who returned from a 25-game absence with an injury. “Good to finally be back.”

Lundkvist played 16:15, while Matt Duchene skated 15:55 in his first action following a 24-game absence. Lundkvist has been out since Oct. 16 and Duchene since Oct. 18. The process has been rough on both, but getting back in was a great thing, Duchene said.

“It's been a lot and that's been a really tough recovery,” Duchene said. “It might take a little bit more time and kind of the process of getting back to normal is getting back into some games. The more I play and the more I get back into it, it'll come."

And, as luck would have it, there are plenty of chances to play moving forward. The Stars play at Winnipeg on Tuesday and Minnesota on Thursday before returning to the AAC for home games against Florida and Los Angeles.

“You’re still living day to day, just trying to get by,” Gulutzan said. “It’s just `the next day,’ and I think that’s the best mindset to have. We’re not looking at the stats, we’re just trying to prepare for games . . . so many games.”

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.