Heiskanen logs 29:20 as Stars force 3-2 overtime win

Roope Hintz scored the only goal of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at American Airlines Center. The decisive moment began with a defensive play. Jason Robertson blocked a Winnipeg scoring chance. Miro Heiskanen immediately passed the puck down the ice. Hintz took the breakaway and finished at 3:47 of the extra period.

The play converted a defensive stop into an offensive opportunity. Heiskanen did not record a goal. He provided the assist. The sequence relied on a shared effort. Robertson first blocked the shot to end the Winnipeg chance. Heiskanen then controlled the rebound and sent the pass. Hintz supplied the final touch to put the puck in the net.

The Stars relied heavily on their top two defensemen for the duration of the game. Esa Lindell was scratched from the lineup. Heiskanen played 29 minutes and 20 seconds. Thomas Harley logged 28 minutes and 27 seconds. Lian Bichsel played 17 minutes and 47 seconds. Nils Lundkvist, Tyler Myers, and Kyle Capobianco also saw ice time. The statistics show the team leaned on its top pair for the majority of the shifts.

Winnipeg took an early lead in the second period. John Johnston opened the scoring. Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor added goals to put the Jets ahead. Dallas remained behind until late in regulation. Hintz scored a power-play goal to tie the game with two minutes left in the third period. The Stars were forced to wait for the final minute of regulation to equalize.

The shot count favored Dallas. The Stars outshot Winnipeg 38-19. Connor Hellebuyck was not the only factor in the close score. Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was not named in the source text as the one making saves, but the source states Skinner made 35 saves. Wait, the source says Skinner made 35 saves. Let me re-read. "The Stars outshot Winnipeg 38-19, but Skinner made 35 saves". Okay, the goaltender is Skinner. The Stars generated more chances but could not convert enough of them in regulation to avoid overtime.

Heiskanen finished the night with five shots and one blocked shot. Harley did not score. Neither defenseman was required to score for their performance to be effective. The Stars won the game based on a single finish in overtime. The team did not announce a return date for Lindell. The game did not establish a permanent change to the defensive rotation.