DALLAS _ The Stars found a way to pull some meaning out of a meaningless game Tuesday.
With Dallas and Arizona destined to miss the playoffs and battling only for pride, the Stars' kids were given the spotlight and found it quite comfortable.
Julius Honka scored his first NHL goal in overtime to give Dallas a 3-2 win, and a heck of a memory for the 21-year-old defenseman. The 14th overall pick in the 2014 entry draft, Honka has spent three years in the AHL. Now, with a late season call-up, he's looking to make the NHL his permanent home.
Tuesday's performance was a great step in that direction.
Honka played 15:47, had five shots on goal and looked like a calm veteran during the 3-on-3 overtime period. The Stars have struggled with the extra stanza this year and still are just 5-9, but they controlled much of the OT play against the Coyotes, and Honka came up with a huge shot off assists from Jason Spezza and Gemel Smith.
Too often this season, the Stars' skilled players weren't able to finish chances at key moments, but Honka set the puck on the ice and slapped a shot past Arizona goalie Mike Smith, who was having a fantastic game.
It helped make up for Dallas giving up the tying goal with 4:27 left in regulation, and it pushed the Stars to 33-36-11 on the season. Arizona will likely be in the top three in draft selection as it fell to 29-41-10. Dallas could move back to the seventh or eighth pick with two more home games, but the players say they are going to give their best until the end of the season.
"You're a professional, and you want to play your best no matter what, so that's what we're going to do," Spezza said before the game. "We want to finish strong."
Spezza did that. He stole the puck from Smith behind the net in the second period and set up Radek Faksa for a great scoring chance into an open cage. However, Arizona's Peter Holland blocked that shot. Spezza also had a hard shot clang off the crossbar that could have helped put the game away.
But he kept with it and helped lead the kids. Jason Dickinson scored his first goal of the season and second of his career. Gemel Smith tallied an assist on the game-winner. Esa Lindell played 24:24 and had three blocked shots.
With the Stars nursing several injuries, they turned to the kids Tuesday, and the kids came through.
That's a nice step forward toward next season.
