DALLAS _ Ken Hitchcock said before Saturday's showdown with the Nashville Predators that he wanted to at least get the attention of last year's Stanley Cup finalist.
Consider that deed accomplished.
In one of the more crazy and entertaining games of the season, the Stars survived to take a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville, getting their first points against one of the top three teams in the Central Division this season.
Dallas was 0-6-0 against Nashville, Winnipeg and St. Louis heading into the game, so taking a win was important.
"I don't think we've got their attention yet," Hitchcock said before the game. "And that's what we're trying to do with them, with Winnipeg, with St. Louis. That's on us. We've got to find a way to be more consistent with our approach keep our discipline up, but yet, hopefully, find a way to get their attention."
They weren't exactly more consistent, they didn't quite keep their discipline up ... but they did gain plenty of attention. Before a sold out American Airlines Center, Dallas rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, held on through two penalties in overtime, and pushed their record to 20-14-3 (43 points). Nashville moved to 21-9-5 (47 points), so it still has a nice cushion, but the Stars drew closer to the big three for the first time in a head-to-head meeting this season.
"Just playing against the team that's beat us twice in our division that's arguably one of the best teams in the league, that's a really good measuring stick for us," goalie Ben Bishop said before stopping 29 shots plus two more in the shootout to get the win. "If we want to be the best, we've got to beat the best. So it's a good measuring tool."
The Stars stumbled early, as goals by Alexei Emelin and Calle Jarnkrok put them in a 2-0 hole 7:03 into the game. Dallas entered the contest 3-11-2 when allowing the first goal and 0-8-1 when trailing after one period, so the comeback was indeed rare.
But the Stars stayed calm, Bishop tightened up, and Dallas had a 3-2 lead after two periods. Tyler Seguin scored on a power play in the first period, and then two bang-bang plays gave the Stars the lead in the second.
After Bishop and the defense survived a flurry in front of the Stars' net, Antoine Roussel, Radek Faksa and Tyler Pitlick moved the puck up ice. John Klingberg, who finished with two assists in 25:34 of ice time, whipped a shot on net that was saved by Juuse Saros, and Roussel batted in a high rebound to tie things up.
It was a hard-earned turnaround, and the momentum led to a go-ahead goal three minutes later. This time, Jason Spezza and Gemel Smith forced a turnover at the Predators blueline, and Martin Hanzal collected a rebound and scored his third goal of the year.
That came with more than 26 minutes to play (31 if you count overtime), so there was a good chance the lead wasn't going to stand up. Nashville scored on a power play early in the third period to tie the game, then looked like it was going to win in overtime on special teams.
Jamie Benn took a tripping penalty and Dan Hamhuis followed with a cross-check, and Dallas spent much of the extra frame on the penalty kill. However, Bishop and crew kept the game tied, and Dallas then won it in the shootout.
Bishop stopped Filip Forsberg and Kevin Fiala while Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars, and the arena went home for the holidays happy.
Dallas now gets the mandatory three-day break for Christmas and will return to play at Minnesota on Wednesday with some real optimism in tow.
"We've got to be better in a lot of areas," Hitchcock said before the game. "But I think we are a lot better team than when we played (Nashville) the last time (a 5-2 loss Dec. 6). That's three weeks ago, and I think we are going to find out tonight."
At the very least, they now have those top teams looking in the rearview mirror.
