DALLAS — The Stars did not want to be the owners of a losing streak.
With Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win to the Senators, the Stars avoided what would have been their first three-game losing streak under coach Pete DeBoer. They lost consecutive games four times in 2022-23, but stopped every dip with a victory.
On Thursday night, the Stars escaped the grip with a late charge.
After going up 2-0, the Stars allowed the next three goals as Ottawa took the lead 87 seconds into the third period with Travis Hamonic’s goal. Nils Lundkvist tied the game for Dallas with 5:06 remaining in the third period.
Tyler Seguin won the game with 29 seconds remaining in overtime after Wyatt Johnston forced a turnover in the Ottawa zone.
Miro Heiskanen scored two goals, his third career multi-goal game and first one in the regular-season since he was 19 years old in 2018-19. His two goals were 1:48 apart in the first period, the fastest two goals by a Stars defensemen since Sergei Zubov scored twice in 57 seconds in 2001.
Derick Brassard and Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators. The win snapped Dallas’ five-game losing streak against the Senators, with its last victory coming on Oct. 21, 2019.
Jake Oettinger made 28 saves, and has now allowed at least three goals in each of his starts since shutting out the Ducks on Dec. 1.
The Stars (15-7-5) will try to build on their win when they host the Red Wings on Saturday.
For the most part this season, the Stars have been a model of consistency. Minor blips were corrected the next game. Poor performances were followed up with wins. Bleeding was clotted. Maladies were healed.
Just as they had never faced a three-game losing streak, the Stars had also never put together four straight wins. They climbed towards the top of the Central Division and Western Conference without streaks, and instead with steadiness.
The Stars probably deserved better than a 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, and the hockey gods delivered karma in the first period.
Heiskanen’s innocuous looking shot after a Joe Pavelski faceoff win gave the Stars a 1-0 lead. Later, Heiskanen rushed down the left side in transition, and squeezed a shot through Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg that should have been a save.
In the third period, Lundkvist’s innocent-looking shot after a Roope Hintz faceoff win went through traffic, including through Forsberg. After Matt Murray delivered a goaltendering performance for the ages for Toronto, Forsberg presented the opposite.
