Heika’s Take: Stars again rally from 2-0 deficit, snap lengthy losing skid in Ottawa

The Stars won in Ottawa on Tuesday for the first time since March 2016.

Roope Hintz scored in overtime after Dallas overcame a 2-0 deficit and grabbed a 3-2 victory. It was important for a lot of reasons – including the fact it was their fourth victory this year when trailing 2-0 in a game – and also because it broke an eight-game winless streak at Canadian Tire Centre (0-6-2).

“It meant a lot,” said forward Jason Robertson, who had three points, including his first goal in the past 10 games. “I’ve only [been] here for six years, so six times, but everyone knew it and we wanted this one really bad.”

There are a lot of strange streaks in the NHL, and this one was confusing, as the Stars have been one of the best regular season teams over the span while the Senators have not. Then, when Dallas got behind 2-0 in the first nine minutes, history already looked to be in the process of repeating itself.

Dallas was playing for the third time in the past four nights with travel on three different days, and coach Glen Gulutzan said he was expecting some fatigue.

So when the lads in Victory Green did falter to start, nobody panicked.

“I thought we did a really good job of settling in and stopping the momentum, and then we built momentum back,” Gulutzan said. “I give credit to our guys, they knew the game plan and they knew what they were facing, it just took us a little while to get up and running.”

The Stars were outshot 21-13 for the first 40 minutes but then took control of the game late in the second period. Dallas had a 20-8 edge in shots on goal in the third period and overtime, and really earned everything it received.

Gulutzan put Robertson on Mikko Rantanen’s line, and the two clicked at even strength. Robertson pushed a puck forward in transition, and Rantanen turned it into his ninth goal of the season late in the second period. Then, Robertson scored on the power play to tie things up in the third.

“I just wanted to shoot as much as I could,” said the anxious assassin on his six shots on goal. “I kept firing and kept firing. It felt good.”

Robertson leads the Stars in shots on goal at 69, but his four markers give him a shooting percentage that is near last on the team at 5.8 percent. Still, he’s learning lessons while overcoming adversity.

“Those top guys, it gives them a lot of confidence, especially when you get a big one,” Gulutzan said, adding that he hopes this gets Robertson going.

As for swapping Robertson onto a line with Rantanen, the coach said it was just trial and error.

“When you get a stalemate, you can mix the lines around to create a little spark, and it did its job,” Gulutzan said.

That said, it could change back next game. Adam Erne left with an injury, and his status for Thursday is unknown. Jamie Benn is practicing with the team after being out since early in the preseason with a collapsed lung. He is listed as “day-to-day.” But that’s the beauty of the Stars this season – they find ways to deal with just about everything.

“It’s not what we want to do, but I like the resiliency,” Oettinger said. “If we can mix that with good starts, we’ll be a really good team.”

He did that again and pushed his record to 7-3-2 on the season. The Stars, meanwhile, are 10-4-3 and sit second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference. And to do it on a night when they broke “The Curse of Ottawa,” well that’s a nice evening indeed.

“It’s good,” said Gulutzan. “You never want those things to linger, because they create a life of their own.”

Until they are dead, that is.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.