EDMONTON, Alberta _ The Stars were faced with a foreign situation during their 3-2 shootout win to Edmonton on Thursday night, one they really hadn't seen in a month as they charged toward a potential playoff berth in the Western Conference. They were being severely outplayed.
The shots were infrequent, the chances rare. But it still didn't matter. When things are going well, they're going well.
The Stars won their seventh straight road game, erasing a one-goal third-period deficit with a goal from Miro Heiskanen before Jamie Benn won the game in the fifth round of the shootout. The third-period effort lifted Dallas seven points clear of a playoff spot in the Western Conference and lowered its magic number to clinch a playoff spot to three. The Stars can clinch a playoff spot as soon as Saturday in Vancouver.
Even in recent losses _ and especially so during a disappointing homestand last week _ the Stars were playing a solid brand of hockey. They were creating chances. They were suffocating offenses. Stars coach Jim Montgomery and players were pleased with the style of hockey they were playing, though the results weren't there.
On Thursday against the Oilers, Edmonton dominated early. It held the Stars to six shots on goal in both the first and second periods, while pounding Anton Khudobin with 31 shots. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid showed why they're both among the league's best players with goals, including McDavid's mesmerizing between the legs shot in the second period.
Heiskanen scored in the second straight game by beaming a shot past Mikko Koskinen for his 12th goal of the season.
The result was a welcome one for the Stars, even if they'd built enough of a cushion in the wild-card race to absorb a regulation loss. They had done enough in recent weeks to allow for a hiccup, just not for two or three or four. Of course, this Stars team may look different than the one from earlier in the year.
They are confident on the road, calm facing a deficit and comfortable playing the tight-checking style that fits their personnel. Down 2-0 on Thursday night, they slowly dug themselves out of the hole.
"Since the All-Star break, we've really started to develop that identity and we've had success with it, and players believe and know that that's the way we need to play for us to have success," Montgomery said before the game.
Thursday night wasn't a pretty win. But they don't have to be, especially in the postseason. It also showcased why the Stars could be such a tough out in a seven-game series. Even when the Stars aren't at their best, goaltending can keep them alive.
Khudobin made 40 saves on Thursday night, including a slew of highlight ones to keep his team in the game. It's nothing new for the Stars, who have come to expect that type of performance from either Khudobin or the injured Ben Bishop.
