The Stars ground out a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night in Ohio.
There was no shortage of shots taken in the low-scoring contest. Each team’s netminder was crisp and combined to defend 60-of-62 pucks fired their way.
Jake Oettinger was called on as goaltender for Dallas and played flawlessly for the entire contest.
Columbus scored its lone goal with 15 seconds left, when it was trailing 2-0. Gustav Nyquist’s shot ricocheted off Oettinger. Kent Johnson rebounded and shot back on goal, and the puck bounced off a Dallas defender and past Oettinger.
WHAT TO KNOW
Wyatt Johnston scored the first goal of the game for the Stars in the second period for a 1-0 lead, the only goal that Blue Jacket goalie Daniil Tarasov yielded in the contest. It was his eighth goal in his rookie season, the third among first-year players.
Dallas wrapped up a five-game road swing with a record of 3-1-1, collecting seven of a possible ten points on the trip.
The Blue Jackets have one of the worst records in the league at 10-19-2 for 22 points. The tally leaves them in the cellar in the Eastern Metropolitan.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Stars move to 19-8-6 with 44 points. The total puts the Stars in first place by three points over second-place Winnipeg (20-10-1, 41 points) in the Western Central.
Jason Robertson’s open net goal in the third snapped a streak of eight straight games without one. The goalless stretch began the night his 18-game scoring streak ended.
Jamie Benn’s assist in the second period was the 799th point of his career in his 891st game.
Oettinger (12-4-0) played in the 100th game of his career on Monday in Dallas’ win against Columbus. He also celebrated his 24th birthday on Sunday. Oettinger stopped 27-of-28 shots.
WHAT THEY SAID
“Just trying to get open,” Johnston told Bally Sports of the play before his second-period goal. “But (the puck) just kind of went right to me, and I just tried to put it in. Just finished.”
“He was excellent,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said post-game of Oettinger. “You’re spoiled because he makes some tough saves look easy. He’s so big and composed, and we bent a little bit, especially early in that game.”
“Tough game,” DeBoer said of the narrow victory. “You know, they’re playing with not a lot to lose, and their goalie was really good, which allowed them to kind of hang around.”
NEXT UP
Dallas will play on home ice for the first time in 13 days when they host the Edmonton Oilers at 8:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday, December 21.
