Over the course of the Dallas Stars' just-completed road trip through Ottawa, Boston and Detroit, they have shown a flair for the dramatic. All three games saw late third-period goals to send the game to overtime, with the Stars being the comeback team in the last two matches. Two of the games went to shootout, and the last one was 19 seconds away from doing so.
Most importantly, the Stars were the team to leave the building with the win in all three games.
After a scoreless first period at Joe Louis Arena, the Stars found themselves trailing 2-0 late in the second period. First, Pavel Datsyuk outworked Sergei Gonchar and two other Stars behind Kari Lehtonen's net and got the puck out to Henrik Zetterberg. With Todd Bertuzzi cruising into the slot, Zetterberg feathered a quick pass to his linemate. Bertuzzi hammered a slap shot past Lehtonen.
Young Swedish defenseman Adam Almquist made it 2-0 for the Wings with 5:10 remaining in the middle stanza. No picked him up pinching from the point into the slot, and Zetterberg once again provided a perfect feed after some strong work along the boards by Bertuzzi.
The Dallas comeback got underway in the waning seconds of the middle period. With just 19 seconds remaining before the second intermission, Shawn Horcoff potted a shot right from Jimmy Howard's doorstep. Ray Whitney earned the primary helper for getting the puck to the net but it was Alex Chiasson who provided the initial puck control -- even from his knees along the ice -- that Dallas needed to make the rest of the play possible.
The Stars forged a 2-2 tie at the 4:08 mark of the second period. Jamie Benn started the play with a good defensive play at his own blueline. The Stars captain wheeled up the ice, shredded the defense, and snapped a shot past Howard to complete one of the most impressive individual efforts you will ever see in the NHL.
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The 2-2 tie lasted a little longer than seven minutes, when Datsyuk answered the highlight-reel Benn goal by weaving some magic of his own. Zetterberg drew his third primary assist of the game on this nifty sequence:
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The Red Wings nursed their one goal lead until Justin Abdelkader was called for goalie interference; just the second penalty of the night in a game where the Stars were not whistled for a single penalty. With 1:10 remaining in regulation and Lehtonen pulled for a 6-on-4 attack, the Stars' power play came through. Eakin snapped a shot from the right circle high to the long side, beating Howard to forge a 3-3 tie and send the game to overtime.
As time ticked down to the final 20 seconds of the extra frame, Rich Peverley received a pass from Valeri Nichushkin, who then peeled away to set up a screen as Peverley shot the puck. The seeing-eye wrist shot found the net.
Lehtonen, who stopped 26 of 29 shots, had little chance on any of the goals that got past him. He deserved credit for keeping the Stars in the game at times where it looked like the Red Wings were about to start pulling away.
The Stars (8-6-2) now return home for a Saturday meeting with the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Thereafter, Dallas embarks on a three-game road trip through western Canada.
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