Heika’s Take: Stars flex comeback muscles once again, rally to defeat Mammoth

The Stars on Friday broke out their new retro uniforms that pay tribute to the 1999 Stanley Cup champions, and the timing couldn’t have been better.

Greeting a team that had just finished a four-game road trip and was playing its third game in four nights with travel between each game, the swanky new togs provided a catalyst in a 4-3 win over the Utah Mammoth at American Airlines Center.

“We were looking for any boost we could get, and when I saw the new jerseys and the crowd’s excitement, I thought that can help tremendously,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “A couple of coaches on the bench said, ‘We love these jerseys, they’re awesome, people are excited, and we can use the energy right now.’”

And sure, as has happened to the Stars for much of the season, it wasn’t a straight line to that energy, but eventually it all worked out in the end. Utah scored early and took a 2-0 lead before Dallas roared back on the strength of its league-best power play.

Roope Hintz cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the first period on a power play goal that was created when Jamie Benn was high-sticked in the face. Benn, who had to leave the game briefly for repairs, then returned in the second period and scored a goal to tie things up.

Mikko Rantanen finished with two assists in the game and also was a key figure – and Gulutzan said he and Benn were important leaders.

“It’s a tired group, and to get down 2-0 and fight back like that . . . ” Gulutzan said. “A couple of guys on the bench like Benny and Rants, they were very vocal.”

The Stars this season have rallied back from several two-goal deficits, and while it’s not ideal, it is a nice trick to have in your back pocket.

“Obviously you don’t want to go down 2-0 or be in that position, but we’ve shown we are resilient and can fight back,” said forward Wyatt Johnston, who scored the game-winning goal.

The two teams exchanged goals in the second period to make the score 3-3. Then Utah took two tripping penalties on the same shift and Dallas was given a two-man advantage. The Stars worked quickly and Rantanen found Johnston on the doorstep for the go-ahead goal with less than two minutes left in the second.

Jake Oettinger then locked things down in the third period, and finished with 27 saves to push his record to 11-4-2. Oettinger wore a new “kit” to honor Ed Belfour while in the “99” uniform and tied Belfour for third on the Dallas all-time goalie wins list at 160.

It was a nice blending of the new and the old.

And when you consider the players have been witness to a couple of Hall of Fame ceremonies that call back to those days, the nostalgia for the new guys was tangible.

“All the boys love them, and it’s obviously a nice tribute to the Stanley Cup winning team,” Johnston said. “That’s a huge part of this organization and this city, and they worked tonight.”

In a lot of ways, the bridge between the past and present is meaningful. After three runs to the Western Conference Final, the Stars would love to push themselves over the top the same way the 1999 team did. And while they are just 25 games into the season, they are 16-5-4 and growing every day.

“I think it’s just a total belief in the system and the guys in the group, and the coaching staff does a great job preparing us,” said defenseman Kyle Capobianco. “We have an unwavering faith in our group.”

And a pretty good booster club in the stands.

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.