Kotkaniemi scores twice, lifts Hurricanes past Stars 

DALLAS -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored twice, including the game-winner at 10:35 of the third period, to help the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Dallas Stars 2-1 at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

“He’s noticeable on the offense. Great shot there on the one goal and then driving the net, being heavy. He’s a big kid and when you get him doing that kind of stuff, he’s very noticeable,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That line was probably our best line in general, they were pretty solid. Obviously, our goaltending was great tonight, that’s the difference.”

Martin Necas had two assists, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 22 saves for Carolina (29-16-3), which has won three in a row, including 4-3 in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

“He had three or four [big saves]. Really, it was the same story as last night, where you've got a guy all alone in front and he was able to shut it down for us,” Brind’Amour said of Kochetkov. “That's the position. We talk about it over and over and over. If our guy can be better than the other guy at the other end, we're usually in good shape.”

Thomas Harley scored, and Jake Oettinger made 17 saves for Dallas (29-17-1), which has lost three of its past four games.

“I think both teams were great defensively. They just got a [bad] bounce to go their way,” Oettinger said. “I think in that circumstance it’s just a bad bounce. I don’t know what we did to deserve that, but we’ve had a couple of those go our way too, so that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

Kotkaniemi put the Hurricanes ahead 1-0 at 17:07 of the second period when he scored on a snap shot from the top of the right face-off circle. Dallas defenseman Nils Lundkvist failed to clear the puck, which Necas recovered before spotting Kotkaniemi on a cross-ice pass.

“We knew that they play a hard game. There's not a lot of room and they're obviously one of the top teams for a reason,” Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns said. “After the second period, shots were [13-11 in favor of Carolina]. It seemed a little more exciting, a little more back-and-forth than that, but we knew they're a very detailed team, obviously. Pete [DeBoer] takes control of a team and gets them dialed in, so we expected that.”

Harley tied it 1-1 at 10:11 of the third, stuffing in a backhand in the crease after Wyatt Johnston drove through the right circle and deked around Kochetkov before finding Harley in front.

“They play their system really well. It’s tough to create any offense on it, so when you do, you have to capitalize,” Harley said. “If you want to score goals, you go to the front with your stick on the ice. [Johnston] made a great play and I just had to bang it in.”

Kotkaniemi responded 24 seconds later to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Sean Walker’s shot from a tight angle below the right circle was saved by Oettinger but went in off Kotkaniemi’s midsection at the top of the crease.

“Neither team was really giving a lot of room or opportunities,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought up until the goal was scored, we had the better opportunities, especially in the second period. They found the first goal. We score to tie it up, and the disappointing part is that next shift. We get out of position, we leave the zone a little early, and they get it right back. Those are playoff-type moments where you have to recognize the importance of the next shift.”

NOTES: Brind’Amour coached his 500th NHL game and has the most wins of any coach over that span (307-146-47). … Dallas is 0-13-0 when trailing after two periods this season. … Stars forward Roope Hintz returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury, recording three shots on goal in 19:20 of ice time.