Stars Outlast Senators 5-4 at Home

The Dallas Stars hosted the Ottawa Senators for a Friday night hockey game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars edged the Senators 5-4 in a high-scoring game. Dallas improved to 17-8-3, while Ottawa fell to 11-14-0.

The Senators were reportedly tired Friday night because they played the St. Louis Blues last night and ultimately lost 4-2.

The Stars’ starting lineup featured Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn, Evgenii Dadonov, Ryan Suter, and Jake Oettinger. Oettinger sustained a lower-body injury in the first period and didn’t return. Scott Wedgewood entered the game in relief of Oettinger and stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced.

The Senators drew first blood in a back-and-forth first period.

Travis Hamonic scored on a snap shot to give the Senators an early 1-0 lead 1:16 into the first period. Jakob Chychrun and Mathieu Joseph collected the assists on Hamonic’s second goal of the season.

Drake Batherson made it a 2-0 game when he fired a wrist shot into the Stars’ net at 2:51 of the first period. Jakob Chychrun and Tim Stützle collected the assists on Batherson’s ninth goal of the season.

The Stars finally got on the board midway through the first period.

Joe Pavelski capitalized on the man advantage with a snapshot into the Senators’ net for a power-play goal and cut the away team’s lead in half, 2-1, at 11:46 of the first period. Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson collected the assists on Pavelski’s 13th goal of the season.

The Senators and Stars exchanged goals to wrap up the first period. The Stars had a 3-2 lead over the Senators at the end of the first. Ottawa outshot Dallas 6-5 after the first 20 minutes.

Josh Norris fired a wrist shot to extend the Senators’ lead to 3-1 at 13:20 of the first period. Claude Giroux and Jakob Chychrun collected the assists on Norris’ eighth goal of the season.

Esa Lindell quickly responded with a wrist shot to make it a one-goal game, 3-2, at 13:30 of the first period. Matt Duchene collected the lone assist on Lindell’s third goal of the season.

The Senators opened the second-period scoring, but the Stars responded with a goal of their own.

Drake Batherson ripped a snapshot to expand the Senators’ lead to 4-2 at 4:54 of the second period. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle collected the assists on Batherson’s 10th goal of the season and second of the game.

Thomas Harley made it a one-goal game, 4-3, with a short-handed goal on a wrist shot at 11:21 of the second period. Radek Faksa collected the assists on Harley’s seventh goal of the season.

The Stars trailed 4-3 at the end of the second period. Ottawa outshot Dallas 16-15 after 40 minutes.

The third period was the Dallas Stars show.

Miro Heiskanen blasted a snap shot to tie the game, 4-4, at 7:33 of the third period. Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov collected the assists on Heiskanen’s fourth goal of the season.

Matt Duchene used a backhand shot to help the Stars to a 5-4 lead at 8:17 of the third period. Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin collected the assists on Duchene’s eighth goal of the season.

The Stars held on for a 5-4 win over the Senators at home. Ottawa outshot Dallas 29-24 after a full 60 minutes.

Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Matt Duchene (2 points: 1 point and 1 assist)
2. Jakob Chychrun (3 points: 3 assists)
3. Thomas Harley (1 point: 1 goal)

In Case You Missed It
This past weekend, the Children’s Health StarCenter hosted the Silver Stick National Qualifier, which included seven teams from the Mexican Hockey Federation.

Seeing Stars
Kansas City Royals star and Dallas Stars fan Bobby Witt Jr. swapped gear with Wyatt Johnston on Monday.

Broadcast Update
Saturday’s Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues broadcast at 7:00 p.m. Central will be aired on TXA 21 (KXTA).

Up Next
The Stars will take on the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Central.

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Ana Kieu

Ana Kieu is a journalist by trade. Her love for sports shows in her writing, editing, and podcasting work. She writes about the NHL for Inside The Rink.

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