DALLAS -- The final minute of the second period during the Stars’ 4-3 win over the Kings on Wednesday night was a potpourri of hockey and a grab-bag of lunacy, an exhibition of excitement and a moment of madness.
Before the Stars closed out an important win over the Kings, the last 60 seconds of the second period laid the groundwork. In the final minute before second intermission, the Stars scored two goals, drew a penalty and got in a fight. The minute of playing time took five minutes of real time to complete, and set the Stars up for their seventh win in the 10 games since the All-Star break.
Alexander Radulov scored the game-winning goal with 12.2 seconds left in the second, and the Stars held the Kings at bay in the third period. With the win, Dallas is in the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference.
Through 39 minutes on Wednesday night, the Stars trailed 3-2.
Los Angeles had taken advantage of Dallas errors to build a two-goal lead. Phillip Danault scored in the first period after Thomas Harley’s turnover behind the Stars net. Arthur Kaliyev scored in the second period off the rush after he pick-pocketed John Klingberg’s attempted toe-drag in the offensive zone. Kaliyev launched a one-timer on the power play (the Stars were called for too many men on the ice) to give the Kings a 3-1 lead.
Jason Robertson responded with a goal 56 seconds after Kaliyev’s second to trim the lead to 3-2. That’s when all hockey broke loose.
Ryan Suter blasted a shot inside the blue line — and was helped by Radulov’s net-front screen — that tied the game at 3 with 58.3 seconds left in the second period. Radek Faksa drew a high-sticking penalty on Quinton Byfield with 28.6 seconds left in the period, putting the Stars on their fourth power play of the night.
The Dallas power play entered the evening ice cold, capitalizing on 1 of its last 17 chances. It squandered its first three chances on Wednesday night. But Suter’s shot went wide of the net, and big rebound off the end boards found Radulov at the side of the net. Radulov flipped the puck over Cal Petersen for his third goal of the season, the eventual game-winner.
The fireworks weren’t over.
Off the ensuing faceoff at center-ice, Faksa got tangled up with Blake Lizotte. Faksa wrestled Lizotte to the ice, and each player was issued a roughing minor. Of course, Jamie Benn and Brendan Lemieux stole a bit of the limelight with a colorful exchange after the whistle in front of their respective benches.
It was a critical win for the Stars, who may find themselves tussling with the Kings for playoff positioning in the West. Dallas now embarks on a three-game road trip through Winnipeg, Minnesota and Nashville.
Oettinger made his 11th start in the last 12 games when he started against the Kings on Wednesday night.
Since Oettinger started on Jan. 30 against Boston, only three goalies in the NHL entered Wednesday with more starts: Ilya Sorokin (12, NY Islanders), Jacob Markstrom (11, Calgary) and Connor Hellebuyck (11, Winnipeg).
In that time, Oettinger is 7-2-1 with a .939 save percentage and 1.87 goals against average. According to Natural Stat Trick, Oettinger has saved 4.87 goals above expected in his last 10 games. In his first 16 games, he saved 2.42 goals below expected.
Oettinger is slowly creeping up on new career-highs in games played in the NHL and during a professional season.
Wednesday’s start was his 27th game played this season, nearing the 29 he played last season. When adding the 10 AHL games Oettinger played earlier this season, Wednesday was the 37th professional game he’s played this season. The most professional games Oettinger has played in a season is 38 during his rookie season in the AHL in 2019-20.
