First Shift: Stars look to keep winning ways against Flames

The Stars will try to end a five-game homestand on the right foot on Friday, and they have a lot going their way right now.

Sure, Vegas took a 2-1 overtime win on Wednesday, but Dallas saw the return of defenseman Thomas Harley from injury and another strong performance from goalie Jake Oettinger. Both should be huge as the team moves forward.

Harley received a facial injury when he was shoved into the boards against Minnesota and missed the following three games. He returned Wednesday and played 18:22.

“I thought Thomas Harley was really good,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We miss him when he’s out of the lineup. His feet, his puck-moving ability, his composure with the puck, all of those things. I thought he played a hell of a game for us.”

Harley was on the ice and defending Vegas forward Jack Eichel when he scored the overtime winner. Eichel whiffed on the puck, and that threw both Harley and Oettinger off, allowing Eichel to find open ice in the chaos that ensued.

“I had the shot covered and I had the move covered, I didn’t have the ‘fan on it and get by me’ covered,” Harley said. “I’d like that one back.”

Harley was not in concussion protocol and did not suffer structural damage when his face went into the boards, but he had nasty bruising and swelling. He said he got into the game pretty quickly.

“I was a little nervous about how I would hold up out there, but everything went well,” he said. “Contact on my first shift, and I took a deep breath and went from there.”

Getting Harley back into his regular minutes is important, and having Oettinger rebound from allowing five goals against Colorado was vital. Oettinger had 24 saves, including some big ones in a 1-1 game. DeBoer said he expected that from his No. 1 goalie, who now sits 8-3-2 with a 2.45 GAA and .920 save percentage.

“You knew he would bounce back and rise to the occasion,” DeBoer said. “I can’t think of another guy I want in there in an important game than him, and we knew we would get that kind of game out of him. He was great.”

The coach also reassembled the top line mid-game and was rewarded with the team’s only goal. DeBoer had moved Jamie Benn onto a line with Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski in a 6-3 win over the Rangers and liked the change, so he stuck with it on Wednesday. But after one shift putting Robertson back in his normal spot, DeBoer said he liked the chemistry.

“We hadn’t scored and there was a situation where Jamie Benn had killed a penalty,” DeBoer said. “Roope and Pavs were going and Jamie was fatigued so I threw Robo out with them and they made a couple of plays and looked dangerous. So we stuck with it.”

They will likely do the same against the Flames.

Key Numbers

10-5-2
That is the record of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the lowest points percentage (.647) of any team that has defeated the Stars this season. Dallas has not lost to a team with a record below .500.

87.3 percent
Dallas ranks fifth in the NHL in penalty killing at 87.3 percent. Calgary ranks 26th on the power play at 13.1 percent.

42
Stars captain Jamie Benn has 42 points (23 goals, 19 assists) in 41 career games against the Flames.

He Said It

“It was a chance to get back to .500. It would have been a huge win. We definitely laid an egg. We have to learn from this and get ready for a good team in Dallas in two days.”

- Calgary defenseman Chris Tanev after a 4-2 loss to Nashville on Wednesday

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 Twitter @MikeHeika.