The backhand was worth the wait. Mikko Rantanen received the puck low on the left during overtime, moved toward Jeremy Swayman and kept it long enough to choose his finish. Boston had spent the evening getting bodies between Dallas and the net. Here was a scorer willing to keep looking until there was room.
His winner, 3:52 into the extra session, completed a hat trick and a 3-2 Stars victory Tuesday at American Airlines Center. For a Dallas team whose practice and executive home is in Frisco, this was an encouraging answer to a stubborn scoring problem. The interesting part was how little the three goals resembled one another.
Consider the first equalizer. Rantanen benefited from the loose puck left by Jason Robertson’s poke attempt, scoring with the second period’s clock at 2:50. There was no need to make the opportunity prettier. Robertson had put the puck in a place where a second action could matter, and Rantanen supplied that action.
The third-period equalizer required a different response. Roope Hintz’s attempt met Charlie McAvoy in the slot, and the blocked puck reached Rantanen around the right circle. He finished with a snap shot, bringing Dallas level with 6:22 left in regulation. A defensive success on the initial attempt had become another problem for Boston before it could enjoy the benefit.
Those goals offer a practical distinction. The first required finishing a rebound. The next required adapting to a blocked attempt that changed where the chance existed. Neither was the same exercise as patiently carrying the puck toward the goalie on an overtime power play. Rantanen brought several useful tools to an evening that kept changing the assignment.
Boston deserves substantial credit for making that necessary. The Bruins blocked 22 attempts, compared with 13 by Dallas. They allowed only two Stars shots on goal during the third period. The distinction between shots and attempts matters here: Dallas did not stop trying, but Boston repeatedly prevented those efforts from becoming work for Swayman.
That resistance is the strongest reason to keep the celebration proportional. The Stars won their third consecutive game and improved to 5-3-1. They did not demonstrate that their offense can now create freely against a well-organized opponent. One of the two third-period shots became a goal, and the overtime advantage supplied the eventual winner. The margin for less precise finishing was small.
Nor was the hat trick an individual rescue carried out without assistance. Robertson earned two assists. Hintz’s blocked attempt preceded the late equalizer, while Miro Heiskanen provided the low feed on the winner.
Thomas Harley drew Pavel Zacha’s slashing penalty at 2:28 of overtime, creating the four-on-three opportunity. Zacha’s minor carried a two-minute limit, giving Dallas a short interval to find the opening that regulation had made so scarce. Dallas also killed four Boston power plays.
