CHICAGO — As the seconds ticked away in the second period of the Stars’ eventual 1-0 shootout win over Chicago on Friday night, Roope Hintz flung his head back in disbelief at the result.
He’d just masterfully executed a two-man game with Jason Robertson to free himself at the net-front. He had a tempting net to shoot at to break a 0-0 draw. But Marc-Andre Fleury had other plans. Fleury stretched across the crease to glove Hintz’s attempt with 6.5 seconds left in the period, denying the Stars on a night he frequently shut down the Dallas offense.
Jacob Peterson got revenge in the shootout. Jake Oettinger made sure of it.
The Stars broke through against Fleury in the shootout, with Peterson notching the game-deciding goal in the sixth round for Dallas to pull out its fourth win in five games after the All-Star break.
As impressive as Fleury was in finishing with 34 saves, Oettinger matched him save for save, stopping 29 shots on the evening. It was the second career shutout for Oettinger, who has strung together consecutive stellar performances for Dallas.
But it was Fleury who frustrated the Stars.
In the first period, Fleury thwarted two Dallas chances on the rush. Jason Robertson clipped Fleury’s pad after a 3-on-2 rush up the ice. Denis Gurianov tried to beat Fleury by flying down the left wing and ripping a shot, but couldn’t get it past Fleury.
Gurianov rang a post in the second period, and Alexander Radulov dangled through the Blackhawks defense only to be stopped by Fleury as Radulov tried to put the puck through his pads. Radulov and Robertson each had chances in the third period that couldn’t find the back of the net.
The Stars came away empty-handed on three power plays on Friday night. Fleury was there every step of the way.
Tyler Seguin almost ended the game in overtime with a diving shot that bounced off the iron. Hintz deflected a puck wide of the net in overtime.
Seguin hit the post in the third round of the shootout with a chance to win the game. Hintz was tripped by a diving poke check in the fifth round.
That set up Peterson to win the game by putting a puck between Fleury’s leg, ending a classic goaltender’s duel that was as entertaining as an up-and-down track meet.
The win allowed the Stars’ playoff push to forge ahead with a new target: the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. With Nashville’s loss on Friday night, combined with the Dallas win, the Stars are just four points behind the Predators with two games in hand (and two games left in Nashville).
