yardbarker
DALLAS — The Winnipeg Jets erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring five times in the second period and rolled to an 8-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. Winnipeg tallied the game's last six goals, handing Dallas its first eight-goal-against performance since an 8-2 loss at Winnipeg on Nov. 8, 2016.
Jake Oettinger was pulled one minute into the third period after Kyle Connor made it 6-3, finishing with six goals allowed on 27 shots. Casey DeSmith stopped one of three shots in relief. Oettinger, who entered the game with a 1.99 goals-against average (fourth-best in the NHL), now sits at 9-4-1 with a 2.33 GAA and an .895 save percentage.
Oettinger praised Dallas's first period but pointed to Winnipeg's high-end skill when describing the second. He said it looked as if the Stars thought the Jets were just going to roll over and let them win.
Arttu Hyry opened the scoring at 4:19 of the first period on a pass from Roope Hintz, with Thomas Harley picking up the second assist. With 1:28 left in the period, Hintz took a lead pass from Jason Robertson on a breakaway and slid a backhand through the five-hole of Stuart Skinner.
Dylan Samberg cut the lead to 2-1 with a point shot 1:11 into the second period. Mark Scheifele tied it at 7:03, picking up a loose rebound in the slot. David Perron put Dallas back in front at 11:14 when Harley's point shot glanced off him in front of the net; it was Perron's first goal since signing a one-year, $850,000 contract for his 20th NHL season. Dawson Mercer tied it 3-3 at 13:55 on a pass from Cole Perfetti.
Jamie Benn was called for slashing at 16:54, and Scheifele scored on the ensuing power play at 18:12 with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Gabriel Vilardi, giving Winnipeg its first lead. Mercer finished a 2-on-1 with nine seconds left in the period for a 5-3 lead.
Scheifele finished with two goals and one assist. His 929 career points tie Dale Hawerchuk for the most in Jets and Atlanta Thrashers franchise history. Mercer has two goals in each of his last two games. Connor and Vilardi each had one goal and two assists, Samberg had one goal and one assist, Perfetti had two assists, and Skinner made 30 saves.
Connor scored from the bottom of the right circle 1:00 into the third period, ending Oettinger's night. Vilardi made it 7-3 at 15:12, and Cole Koepke scored 14 seconds later. Perron put another puck in the net on a late Dallas power play, but it was ruled a kick-in on the ice. Benn would have earned the second assist and his 1,000th career point. Winnipeg also had a goal disallowed for offside. Benn remains at 999 career points, all with Dallas.
After coach Glen Gulutzan and his staff left the locker room, the players held a meeting of their own behind doors that stayed closed for at least 10 minutes, The Dallas Morning News reported. Benn told reporters that every player had to look at himself after an ugly night he called unacceptable. "I think it was just something that needed to happen for our group," Benn said of the meeting.
Gulutzan said Dallas played one of its better first periods but changed its approach after Samberg's goal, trying to win the goal back right away instead of staying patient. He also said the Stars made self-inflicted mistakes against a Winnipeg team whose power play and top players are executing at a high level. Gulutzan said the right approach is to stay with your game and keep building it back up.
Lian Bichsel left in the first period with a lower-body injury after two shifts and 1:14 of ice time. Gulutzan said Bichsel will miss both games this weekend. Dallas played the rest of the night with five defensemen. Harley logged 26:27. Miro Heiskanen missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.
Dallas outshot Winnipeg 33-30 and won 35 of 56 faceoffs. The Stars went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Winnipeg went 1-for-3. The loss ended a four-game point streak for Dallas (10-6-2). Winnipeg (9-8-3) has won five straight.
The Stars host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Puck drop for both games at American Airlines Center is 7 p.m. CT.
Originally reported by yardbarker.