Stars rally with last-second goal to pick up point

The Dallas Stars struck for a dramatic late game-tying goal Thursday night, but they couldn't finish the deal in overtime and fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4, in a thriller at American Airlines Center.
The Stars rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period, tying the game with 3.5 seconds left when Mattias Janmark scored from the left circle with the Dallas net empty and an extra attacker on the ice. But Tampa Bay's Cory Conacher scored off the rush with 41 seconds left in overtime to give the Lightning the two points, and leave the Stars with one point -- a good point.

WATCH: [All Stars vs. Lightning highlights]
"I'm really pleased with the way we played the game," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "We had a couple of mistakes and paid the price for it, but we played a very good hockey game, especially in the third period. This is going to end up, hopefully, being a very valuable point."
Said Janmark, "Unfortunate we couldn't get the win, but we haven't had that many games where we were down one or two, three goals where we're able to come back and get it to overtime. And against a good team, too. So it's a bittersweet loss, but for sure it's a good thing and something we can bring if we end up in the same situation to come back."
Janmark's game-tying goal went through two reviews. First to check the clock, which had been inadvertently stopped at 38.5 seconds for 5.5 seconds. When the goal first went in the net, the clock showed 9.0 seconds remaining. After the review, the actual time was 3.5 seconds.
"I didn't know that the clock stopped," Hitchcock said. "I couldn't understand why they were questioning it and why (Lightning captain Steven) Stamkos was going so crazy on the ice. He was looking at the clock and could see that it was stuck."

The second review was for goaltender interference to see if Tyler Seguin had interfered with Lightning goalie Louis Domingue. The ruling was no interference and good goal.
In overtime, there were good chances on both sides. Tyler Pitlick hit a post for the Stars; Brayden Point shot wide on a breakaway for the Lightning.
On the game-winner, Conacher drove the net on the rush, his first shot was stopped by Stars goalie Ben Bishop, but the rebound hit the stick of Conacher, who was being pulled down by Stars captain Jamie Benn, and went in the net.
Seguin scored two goals, and Brett Ritchie also scored for the Stars. Bishop got the start in goal and stopped 20 of 25 shots.
The Stars (36-23-5) moved to within two points of Minnesota for third place in the Central Division and moved three points ahead of St. Louis which is currently in ninth place in the Western Conference.
The Lightning (44-17-4) pushed their points streak to six games (5-0-1). Anthony Cirelli, who was making his NHL debut, had one goal and one assist, and J.T. Miller, acquired at the trade deadline from the Rangers, had two assists for Tampa Bay which had lost to Buffalo in overtime on Wednesday night.

"The guys have found a way all year," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "As a staff we're unbelievably proud of the way we rebounded. That's a tough back-to-back, you know, you've got to change time zones and fly a couple hours. We had pretty good energy early."
The Lightning scored 62 seconds into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Miller won a puck battle along the goal line and set up Point, who scored from close range.
The Stars drew even at the 11:05 mark by cashing in on the game's first power play. Benn set up Seguin, who scored off a blast from the slot to make it a 1-1 game.
The Stars got in some penalty trouble early in the second, taking three minors in the span of 4:40 but came out of it with a 2-1 lead. With the two teams playing 4-on-4, Seguin was left alone at the side of the net, took a pass from John Klingberg and put the puck into the open side of the net to put the Stars ahead at the 8:13 mark.
But just 67 seconds later the Lightning tied it when Cirelli, playing in his first NHL game, scored off the rush from the left circle.
"It was an unbelievable feeling. Obviously, just being here and being able to play in a game was pretty cool. To get a goal, too, it's something special. It's something I'll remember for the rest of my life," Cirelli said.

Tampa Bay took a 3-2 lead at the 13:53 mark. Bishop couldn't handle a Cedric Paquette shot from the wing, and Alex Killorn poked in the rebound. Less than three minutes later it was 4-2 when Miller set up Stamkos on a breakaway and the Tampa captain beat Bishop five-hole with a wrist shot.
The Stars cut the lead to 4-3 early in the third after Jason Dickinson sent a pass from behind the Tampa Bay net to Ritchie, who scored from the right circle 1:50 into the period. The goal snapped a 21-game drought for Ritchie.
"It gets you off the schneid a little bit," Ritchie said.
"I was getting chances-you start to worry when you don't get chances, but I knew one was going to go in, and I knew I needed to try to help the team out with a little goal here and there, so it's good to get one."
And that set the stage for Janmark's late game-tying goal and the Stars securing a key point in the standings.
"Overall we've got to take a positive from this" Hitchcock said. "There was a lot of good things, and keep moving forward."

Hanzal has back injury, listed as week to week

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock provided an update on injured center Martin Hanzal on Thursday morning, saying that Hanzal has a back injury and there is no timetable for his return.
"Obviously, he is not skating, so now we are in week to week. We are not day to day; we are week to week," Hitchcock said. "He's not skating right now, hasn't been able to get on the ice. I would say talk to me some time in the middle of next week."

Notes

What's Next

The Stars host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. This will be the fifth and final meeting of the season between the two teams, who have split the first four games.

Stars Lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Devin Shore - Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie - Jason Dickinson - Brett Ritchie
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot - Stephen Johns
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched:Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured:Martin Hanzal (back)

This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.