Stars vs. Jets: Roope Hintz Ties It Late and Wins It in Overtime as Dallas Rallies Past Winnipeg 3-2

Jason Robertson blocked a Winnipeg shot in the Dallas end, Miro Heiskanen sent Roope Hintz the other way, and suddenly it was Hintz alone against Stuart Skinner with the game on his stick. He went five-hole. Ballgame.

"Then Miro made a great play to me, and I got a breakaway," Hintz said after the Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. Hintz scored the winner 3:47 into the extra session after tying it with 2:00 left in regulation, and the Stars won their fourth straight.

Johnston Breaks Through, Then the Jets Pounce

After a scoreless first period, Dallas got the opener 1:17 into the second. Robertson moved the puck to Mikko Rantanen at the top of the left circle, Rantanen whipped it across, and Wyatt Johnston snapped it home. That was Johnston's first goal of the season, and per the AP, he scored 45 last season, so the drought was getting conspicuous. The assist was also Robertson's 500th career point.

Winnipeg flipped the game in a span of under two minutes. At 10:50, Dylan Samberg threw a shot from the point, Jake Oettinger lost track of it, and Gabriel Vilardi kept hacking at the puck sitting on the goalie's right pad until it crossed the line. Alex Iafallo had the second assist, and it was Vilardi's first goal of the season.

"I just saw it on top of his pad, so I was just hoping the ref wouldn't blow (the whistle), and he didn't," Vilardi said. "So I was able to get it."

Then at 12:38, Neal Pionk picked off a Nils Lundkvist pass in the Dallas zone and slid it to Kyle Connor in the circle, and Connor ripped a one-timer into the top corner for his ninth goal of the season. Just like that, the Jets led 2-1.

Skinner kept it that way at the end of the period with the save of the night. Hintz got his stick on a puck at the side of the net and pushed it behind the goalie, but Skinner reached back with his glove and smothered it before it could cross the line. Remember that play. It almost decided the game.

The Third Period Squeeze

Dallas kept pushing in the third, and Skinner kept turning pucks away. The night got rough for the Jets in other ways, too: Nino Niederreiter left the ice with 6:51 to play after taking a stick to the face from teammate Tyrel Bauer, according to the AP, and Dallas forward Radek Faksa also left in the third with what NHL.com called an unspecified injury.

With Oettinger on the bench for an extra attacker, Rantanen found Hintz from behind the net, and Hintz beat Skinner on the blocker side with exactly two minutes left. Rantanen, two nights removed from scoring all three Dallas goals in a 3-2 overtime win over Boston, picked up his second assist.

"When I saw (Rantanen) had the puck behind the net, he delivered right to my wheelhouse," Hintz said. "It was pretty easy to put it in."

Stars of the Show

Hintz scored twice in 15:20 and won nine of his faceoffs while losing three. Robertson finished with two assists for career points No. 500 and 501, reaching that mark in his 466th game, according to the AP. Rantanen added two assists, Johnston had a goal and an assist, and Heiskanen logged 29:20 and set up the winner.

Oettinger was quiet but effective, stopping 17 of 19 shots for an .895 save percentage. The AP noted he has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his eight games this season.

Skinner deserved a better result. He stopped 35 of 38 shots for a .921 save percentage, and his coach did not hold back. "He was outstanding," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "I thought he did a fantastic job."

Connor scored and played 23:02, while Pionk had an assist and logged a massive 29:42.

Turning Point: Pulling Oettinger

Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan explained the late-game philosophy plainly. "I tell the guys lots that we're going to play the same way until we yank the goalie, and then all bets are off," he said.

All bets were off indeed. Six attackers, one perfect pass from behind the net, and Hintz in the slot. Skinner described the gut punch. "It's tough to lose that way, especially like, we felt we had it in the bag going into the 6-on-5, and then they obviously make a couple sweet plays and make us pay," he said.

Stats That Matter

• 38-19: Dallas' edge in shots. The Stars doubled up Winnipeg.
• 40-25: Dallas' edge in faceoffs, a 61.5 percent clip that kept the puck on Stars sticks.
• 0-for-4 and 0-for-2: The power plays. Neither team scored with the man advantage.
• 14-7: Dallas' edge in blocked shots, including the Robertson block that started the winner.
• 500: Robertson's career points milestone, reached on Johnston's goal.

What It Means

Dallas improves to 6-3-1 with 13 points and has won four straight after a 2-3-1 start. The Stars are 3-2-0 at home and in the middle of a season-high six-game homestand, with the New York Islanders up next on Sunday.

"The parity in this league is incredible, and you see so many games like this," Gulutzan said.

Winnipeg drops to 4-3-3 with 11 points and has lost four in a row (0-2-2) and five of its past six. According to the AP, the past four losses have all been one-goal games. The Jets get a change of scenery next: an outdoor game against Montreal, the Heritage Classic, on Sunday in Winnipeg. Arniel saw progress. "We did a lot of better things than the St. Louis game (2-1 loss at the Blues on Tuesday), just still some things we got to work on," he said.

A Two-Part Finale

Hintz wrote both the cliffhanger and the resolution here, the tying goal with two minutes left and the winner in overtime, like a showrunner who refuses to make you wait for next season. Skinner did everything he could to change the script. Winnipeg just keeps landing on the wrong side of the one-goal games, and that gets old fast.

"I thought we battled," Skinner said. That will not show up in the standings, but it was true.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.