Heika’s Take: Stars grab critical points by any means possible

Pete DeBoer was mostly joking on Saturday when he said he would like to focus more on the improvement of his team’s overtime performance than the rest of the game, but he did make a good point.

Dallas had probably its worst performance of the young season, but still found a way to claim a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers at American Airlines Center. That pushes the Stars to 3-0-1 on the year, despite analytics that don’t reflect strong play so far. As a result, there are some bittersweet feelings going through the room right now.

“Obviously, the points are why we’re here, but we’ve got a lot of work to do and need to clean up a lot of areas,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said.

Dallas was outshot 40-25 and gave up three shorthanded goals, but still found a way to win. They are, in fact, the first team in NHL history to surrender three shorthanded tallies in a game and still win. A big reason why was because Benn and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist, while Wyatt Johnston had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points.

Johnston made a nice pass in overtime to help create space for Pavelski, who moved in front of Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson and flipped in his third goal of the season. It was a great moment for a team that went 4-11 in overtime last season. The Stars have pushed two overtime games to a shootout and now won a third this season. They’ve worked hard at 3-on-3 hockey in training camp, and that work seems to be paying off.

“We’re definitely a little different, a little more patient,” said Pavelski. “We try to possess the puck a little more and it has led to more chances. And we’ve gotten some good saves.”

That can be huge for the team as it tries to get the best seeding possible in the Western Conference. Defending champ Vegas is off to a 6-0-0 start and Central Division rival Colorado is 5-0-0, so these points are pretty important.

“You look at the end of the season and these points are every bit as important,” said forward Jason Robertson. “We lost the division last year by one point. You can look at so many games where we could have made that up.”

Saturday will go down as a memorable two points. Dallas honored goalie Ed Belfour and head coach Ken Hitchcock, who will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on Sunday, and the crowd was fired up. The Stars took a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes on goals by Johnston and Tyler Seguin, and it looked like the rout was a go.

However, Philadelphia started playing aggressive hockey and Dallas started turning the puck over, and it was 2-2 at first intermission. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood got his first start since April 12 and was solid, stopping 36 of 40 shots. That was crucial as the Stars battled to find their bearings. Most of the criticism was on puck mismanagement as Dallas was unable to make smooth passes and maintain possession. DeBoer said the breakdowns forced the Stars to scramble all night. It was most evident on the power play, when the Flyers were able to race up ice and create odd-man rushes – including twice on the same power play.

While Philadelphia executed well, the Stars simply opened the door.

“At the end of the day, that’s us,” Pavelski said. “They came hard and we didn’t handle it. It’s a lesson. You give up one, it happens occasionally. You give up three, that’s unacceptable. We’re not happy with it at all.”

Still, they found a way to win. Benn scored off a pass from Johnston. Johnston scored off a pass from Benn, and Pavelski took care of things in overtime.

“I take it for granted,” DeBoer said of Pavelski’s OT winner.

The 39-year-old now has 452 career goals, many scored when he and DeBoer were with the Sharks. Now with the Stars, the head coach said he enjoys the view.

“You never think he’s going to miss,” DeBoer said. “And it’s always in big moments, he always rises to the occasion.”

It allows everyone to sleep on the bad parts of this game and take a deeper look before Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh.

“That definitely wasn’t the prettiest of wins,” said Johnston. “I think it’s just working at it . . . and just learning from all of the situations you’re playing in. I think we’re happy with [the record], but we can improve a lot on how we have been playing.”

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.