Cooley has 3 points, Utah Hockey Club defeats Stars

DALLAS -- Logan Cooley had a goal and two assists to lead the Utah Hockey Club to a 5-3 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Guenther and Jack McBain each had two assists for Utah (37-30-13), which is 3-0-1 in the past four games. Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.

“Great game from all of our team. I thought we had probably two shifts where we would’ve loved to take back at the end of the second but other than that, I think we played really well,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “Power play came up big obviously but that’s the way we play with or without the puck. Without the puck really responsible, always on the right side stopping them, great in our battles. I think we’re solid. Normally Dallas is a team that creates a lot of offense against us, our reload was good, limited the odd-man rush, like I said, except two shifts at the end of the second, so really proud of the boys.”

Wyatt Johnston, Brendan Smith, and Jason Robertson each scored, and Mikko Rantanen had two assists for the Stars (50-24-6), who have lost five straight (0-3-2). Casey DeSmith made 29 saves.

“We got through without any injuries and the playoffs start in five days, so that’s all I care about. We want to get through these games,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “If we could start the playoffs tomorrow that would be my preference, but we have to play these games out and we can’t move up or down so let’s get through them. Work on a few things and make sure we’re as healthy as we can be come [Game 1].”

Dallas will finish second in the Central Division and face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round.

Utah went 4-for-4 on the power play. The Stars were 1-for-4.

“Some good things, some bad things. I think the thing we’re stressing over the last three games to end here are the details,” Dallas forward Colin Blackwell said. “Our penalty kill has been great all year and I think we gave up four. For somebody like me, that’s my job, so didn’t get the job done. Kind of left Casey out to dry there, so tough on that way. It’s frustrating and leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but trying to focus on the little things in order to build things moving forward here.”

Johnston gave Dallas a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 2:48 into the first period. Roope Hintz sent a pass from the goal line to Johnston at the edge of the right face-off circle, who beat Vejmelka with a snap shot.

Hayton tied it 1-1 at 8:11 when he deflected Mikhail Sergachev’s point shot at the top of the crease on the power play.

“I’ve been playing with Hayton for a long time now. He’s one of the hardest working guys. He puts in a lot of work away from the rink. He’s a great player,” Utah forward Nick Schmaltz said. “Whatever you really need, he can score, he can defend, he can play the penalty kill, power play, kind of a utility guy, does it all so it’s awesome to see him get rewarded. He had a tough year last year, or whenever that was with injury, and he put the work in, and he has come out and been a huge player for us all year.”

Smith gave Dallas a 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the second period with a short-handed goal that started with a Blackwell breakaway. It was Smith’s first goal of the season.

“Everybody enjoys scoring. You don’t want to see a bagel there on your scoresheet,” Smith said. “That was really exciting. For it to actually see the net, it was great. I think the bench was happier than I was, so that was a cool thing to see with everybody all giving me high-fives and tapping me on the head. It’s an exciting moment, and I love that the boys are there with me.”

Sean Durzi tied it 2-2 on the power play at 1:21 on a point shot that deflected off of Dallas forward Jamie Benn's stick and over Vejmelka's glove.

Cooley put Utah ahead 3-2 at 7:04 on a shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle.

“A team like that, they’re going to push and have stretches. We had a couple of shifts in the third where they were all over us. We competed and kept them in the inside and was able to manage those waves and have poise within that,” Hayton said. “That’s such a big thing in this League and learning how to win is how to have poise and composure in those situations. That’s a big thing against these teams.”

Josh Doan made it 4-2 at 18:06 when he found a loose puck in the high slot on a net-front scramble on the power play.

Robertson cut the lead to 4-3 at 18:53, tapping in a back-door cross-ice pass from Mathew Dumba.

Schmaltz extended the Utah lead to 5-3 on the power play at 5:32 of the third period when he collected a loose puck in front and lifted it over a sprawling DeSmith.

NOTES: The four power-play goals scored by Utah set a new franchise record for a single game. … Cooley (62) joined Connor Bedard (63) and Macklin Celebrini (62) as the third player in the NHL with 60-plus points at age 20 or younger this season. ... Johnston's goal was his 70th point of the season, making him the first player in Dallas franchise history to hit that mark in a season at age 21 or younger. … Dallas defensemen Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell were each given a maintenance day, with Brendan Smith and Alexander Petrovic drawing into the lineup. … Dallas forward Mason Marchment missed the game due to illness with DeBoer indicating there is a flu-like illness working through the locker room. … Dallas forward Mikael Granlund played in his 900th regular-season NHL game.