DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 23: Ryan Suter #20 of the Dallas Stars controls the puck against Riley Sheahan #15 of the Seattle Kraken in the second period at American Airlines Center on April 23, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
Roope Hintz scored twice, and Jason Robertson assisted on both goals to rescue the Dallas Stars from a 2-0 deficit in the second period, rallying with three goals in 5:41 to defeat the Seattle Kraken, 3-2 at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
“It was five minutes that got us,” said Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol. “We gave up the three on a short span. We had a good start to the second. We regained our composure after that and had a hell of a third period, but we couldn’t overcome that five-minute span.”
The Kraken, for the second straight night, built a 2-0 advantage but saw it slip away in the second period. After Riley Sheahan and Yanni Gourde staked the Kraken out to a decisive advantage,
“Overall, it wasn’t a terrible game,” said Sheahan, scoring his first goal since Feb. 22 against the New York Islanders. “We just had some lapses where we took our foot of the gas, and they capitalized.”
Hintz started the scoring at 6:53 on a backdoor play with Jason Robertson, then broke through the Kraken defense to tie the game on a power play just 2:05 later.
Vladislav Namestnikov then buried his 15th goal of the season off a Kraken turnover behind their own net.
The run was enough to stymie a Kraken effort in the third period when they outshot Dallas, 14-5, playing in their second game in as many days and after a 930-mile plane ride overnight from Minnesota.
Sheahan, moving to within nine points of 200 in his NHL career, scored on a rebound at the net, 6:50 into the game.
“It felt good,” said Sheahan. “Great faceoff win by Morgan (Geekie) and a good shot through by (Adam) Larsson – and I just tried to get there and won a battle. It was nice to get one.”
Gourde’s deflection at the net from a Derrick Pouliot point blast was the 100th goal of his NHL career, coming with 1:27 left in the first period.
Jake Oettinger secured the win for Dallas with 30 saves, who moved four points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference with three games remaining. Chris Driedger took the loss on 28 stops.
The Kraken finish their three-game road swing Tuesday, 7pm PT at Vancouver (93.3 KJR / Kraken Audio Network).