Roope Hintz, Stars double up on Senators

Roope Hintz scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period, and the stingy Dallas Stars won their third straight, 4-2 over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

With Dallas trailing 2-1, Jamie Benn and Hintz scored in a 1:08 span of the second. Meanwhile, Jake Oettinger (11 saves) and the Stars defense got stout as they held the Senators to two shots on goal in the third period and just 13 for the game.

Matt Duchene added some third-period insurance with a goal to complement an earlier assist, while Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnson had two helpers apiece for Dallas, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games.

Brady Tkachuk scored and assisted on Ridly Greig's goal for the Senators, who were held to their second-fewest shots on goal this season. Leevi Merilainen made 21 saves for Ottawa, which went 0-for-4 on the power play and opened 2025 on sour note after going 9-3-1 in December.

Dallas came out aggressive, forced a penalty and opened the scoring just 4:39 into the contest. Robertson sent the puck toward the net, where Hintz redirected it past Merilainen for the power-play score.

The Senators, however, answered with two goals over a 24-second span.

Off a faceoff victory in the Dallas zone, Ottawa's Shane Pinto faked a shot from the slot, then slid the puck for an open Tkachuk to bury with 12:15 left in the first. Less than 30 seconds later, Tkachuk picked the pocket of Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen behind the Stars' net, then found Greig to convert his third goal in three games.

Dallas returned the favor with those two quick second-period scores.

With 9:41 remaining in the middle frame, Benn sent a point drive that glanced the leg of Ottawa defenseman Travis Hamonic and was elevated past Merilainen to tie the contest. Then Hintz, off a Senators' own-zone turnover and a drop pass from Robertson in traffic, put the Stars ahead 3-2.

Oettinger thwarted a Pinto breakaway attempt 1:04 into the third. Then Duchene's snap shot with 6:23 left in regulation added some breathing room for Dallas.

--Field Level Media