Heika’s Take: Stars use “stick-to-it-ive-ness” in shootout win over Sharks

The Stars’ path to 4-0-0 has been interesting, to say the least.

There have been ups and downs throughout the short journey and Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center was a reflection of that. Dallas had a 38-27 advantage in shots on goal, an 83-49 edge in shot attempts and went three-for-three in the shootout. Yet they had some key giveaways that led to goals or great scoring chances, and they simply felt there were too many mistakes on the night.

“It was a tough game,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “You’ve got to give them credit, they played really hard. That was four [games] in six [nights] for us, and there were some self-inflicted mistakes. We take pride in not beating ourselves, so we’ve got to eliminate that, but a win is a win in this league. You’ve got to find a way to bank as many points as you can and we found a way.”

The Stars have eight points on the year and are among the league leaders. That’s a good start when you consider they are grinding through the early schedule to clear space for a trip to Finland in late October.

“They worked hard and played well,” said defenseman Esa Lindell. “It was maybe not the best from us, but we got the win and some room to improve.”

Dallas had not allowed a goal at home or given up the lead going into Tuesday night, but San Jose took a 1-0 lead at the 6:24 mark of the second period when Jason Robertson gave away a puck entering the offensive zone and Tyler Toffoli scored on the other end.

“It was a good read by them on the play, not a turnover we want,” said Matt Duchene. “But again, we have offensive guys who make those plays nine out of 10 times. You’ve got to learn from that stuff, but we stuck with it. We don’t get down, we stick with the game plan and keep going.”

The Stars came back and tied the game six minutes later when Mason Marchment found Duchene crashing the net, and Duchene tipped in his first goal of the season.

San Jose came back and made it 2-1 off a Jamie Benn turnover that sprung the Sharks on a two-on-one. Former Stars forward Ty Dellandrea collected the goal off a loose puck at the net, and that one likely stung Jake Oettinger. The two good friends were roommates when Dellandrea played in Dallas.

But, the Stars once again had a quick answer. This time, the line of Wyatt Johnston, Robertson and Roope Hintz clicked on a bang-bang-bang play, and Hintz tallied his second goal of the year.

The score stayed that way through the third period, while both teams exchanged chances and Oettinger and Mackenzie Blackwood took turns making solid saves. Dallas killed three penalties in the period, including a 5-on-3 where they didn’t give up a shot on goal. Lindell had three clears on the kill.

“That was a big momentum-changing kill for us,” DeBoer said. “The game could have really quickly gone the other way. You don’t want to put yourself in that position, but I like how we responded.”

Dallas had more puck possession in the 3-on-3 overtime, but neither team could score. Then, Robertson, Duchene and Johnston each scored in the shootout to give Dallas the extra point. The Stars were 4-2 in shootouts last season, so this was a nice continuation.

“They’re a pesky, hard-working team. They’re hard to play against,” Duchene said. “Sometimes it takes 65-plus to get it done. Whatever it takes to get it done.”

And that can be a good thing at this time of year. Asked if the hectic schedule might have actually been good for the Stars, Duchene said, “It is when you’re winning.”

The Stars now head to Washington for a road game Thursday and come back Saturday for a day game against the Oilers.

“We’re still rusty in a lot of areas where we need to get better, but there are a lot of good parts to our game,” Duchene said. “Pete said it: The teams with the best structure playing their style of hockey the best at this time of year get points. I think our stick-to-it-tiveness has been really evident.”

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 (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.