Stars defeat Islanders, move into second wild card in West

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars moved into the second wild card from the Western Conference with a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

"[Dallas'] intensity was really good early," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "They were winning all the battles, they're winning all the races. They put volume of pucks to the net. They're a straight line, they get it, they throw it to the net. They have people there, they have good sticks, and they create off that."
Radek Faksa scored a shorthanded goal for the Stars (40-26-3), who have won seven of nine and moved one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. Jake Oettinger made 19 saves.
"The kid (Oettinger) had a tough couple of periods because there was no shots," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "That's a tough game for a goalie to play when there's absolutely no traffic, there's no shots, nothing going on. When we needed him in the third [period], he came up big for us."

Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves, and Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Islanders (32-28-9), who had won four in a row.
"All of our goalies have been really good for us all year," Pageau said. "They gave us a chance to win every night, and that's what [Varlamov] did tonight. He made some key saves at some moments to give us a chance to come back. They put a lot of pucks on net with traffic, and he was able to fight through the traffic and find the puck to make the save."
Marián Studenič gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 7:29 of the first period when he shot into an open net on a rebound. Trotz challenged the play for goalie interference, and even though Jamie Benn spun Varlamov around, the officials determined the contact was made in the white ice and upheld the goal.
"I really appreciate the chance when I have opportunity to play with [Tyler Seguin and Benn]," Studenic said. "They're both great players, and it makes it easier for me. They're in the league for a long time, so it helps me out for sure."

Pageau tied it 1-1 at 11:47, skating the puck up from the defensive zone and beating Oettinger high stick side.
Seguin put the Stars in front 2-1 at 19:13 when Joel Hanley's shot deflected off him at the edge of the crease.
"Kind of greased it up, all three of us," Seguin said about his linemates. "We're getting some good looks because of it. Marian, I think that was the best game I've seen him skate, and (he's) playing with that confidence now, taking pucks to the net."

Nelson scored 31 seconds into the second period to tie it 2-2. After Michael Raffl turned the puck over in the offensive zone, Nelson skated in and elected to shoot on a 3-on-1.
Faksa's shorthanded goal made it 3-2 at 10:29. Dobson mishandled the puck in the neutral zone, and Faksa was credited with the goal when the rebound of his shot deflected in off Pageau.
"They play a defensive style," Islanders forward Josh Bailey said. "They get numbers back, they box out. They're a good team. You've got to earn it against them. We're not our best tonight. Gave ourselves a chance, just came out on the wrong end."
NOTES:Noah Dobson had two assists to give him 40 points this season (10 goals, 30 assists). He is the first Islanders defenseman to get at least 40 points since Nick Leddy had 42 in 2017-18. ... Stars forward Denis Gurianov missed the game due to a non-COVID illness.