MONTREAL _ Stars forward Joe Pavelski returned to the lineup for Dallas' 4-3 overtime win over the Canadiens on Saturday night, ending a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury and helping Dallas complete the best comeback of the season in Montreal.
Pavelski made an immediate impact, picking up two assists on the night to extend his personal point streak to six games. He assisted on Mattias Janmark's second-period goal after picking off Marco Scandella's pass in the Montreal zone. He also helped set up Tyler Seguin's blast from the left circle in the second period.
For the Stars, Saturday's game was the team's latest display of resiliency, rallying from down 3-0 just 26 minutes into the game to force overtime, and ultimately won on Seguin's goal on the rush.
It was Dallas' fourth straight win and brought them just one point behind St. Louis, which entered the day with the best record in the Western Conference. The Stars can sweep their three-game Canadian swing with a win Sunday evening in Ottawa.
Seguin scored a power-play goal in his second straight game after just one on the man advantage in the season's first 56 games. Blake Comeau tied the game midway through the third period by flinging a puck on net from the far boards. Comeau's shot was screened by Radek Faksa, and resulted in Comeau's 15th goal of the season.
Pavelski now has 15 assists this season and continued his recent hot stretch with eight points in his last six games played. Pavelski's resurgence bodes well for a Stars team that needs every boost of offense they can get, especially from their primary offseason acquisition making $7 million a season.
"If you can be somewhat natural out on the ice and reactive and use your instincts out there," Pavelski said of his recovery. "It feels really good that way. Everything's been good. Everything's been responding well."
Recently, the Stars have asked for more shots from defensemen, and they've been coming quicker. That style fits what Pavelski does in the slot with tips, redirections and rebounds. He gets to the right areas and then knows that a shot is coming from the point.
"Our game's kind of sped up and the execution has been there," Pavelski said. "We're on a good little run now, and playing well. We established our compete level early, and hopefully everything will fall right into play."
Stars interim head coach Rick Bowness said: "More importantly than anything, he was feeling comfortable in his game, regardless of the goals. Yeah, it's all nice, and the points and everything. I think he was starting to feel more comfortable here and comfortable with his overall game."
Pavelski centered the fourth line with Janmark and rookie Jason Robertson, while also playing on the first power-play unit.
