The Dallas Stars (34-14-10) and St. Louis Blues (20-28-9) played each other three times in the last 12 days, and all three games followed a similar script. The Stars built a lead, blew that lead and then regained the lead in the final minutes of regulation to win each contest. Of course, in typical Stars fashion, they saved the most dramatic game for last.
The Stars beat the Blues 5-4 on Wednesday, after blowing a 4-2 third-period lead, thanks to Jamie Benn’s game-winning goal with 23 seconds left. Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, and Mavrik Bourque were the other goal scorers, while Jake Oettinger made 14 saves.
Related: 2 Takeaways From Stars’ 4-3 OT Win Over Jets
Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Alexey Toropchenko scored for the Blues, while Jordan Binnington made 23 saves. Here are three takeaways from last night’s contest.
Jason Robertson Hits 200 Career Goals
Robertson’s goal at 11:37 of the first period to tie it at 1-1 was the 200th goal of his career and his 32nd of the season. On Wednesday, he became the second-fastest player in franchise history to hit the 200-goal mark (431 games), behind the legendary Dino Ciccarelli, who did it in 381 games. That means Robertson did it faster than Mike Modano, a Stars (and NHL) legend. Robertson is now just three goals behind last season’s high of 35, and 14 behind his career high of 46 set in 2022-23.
Jamie Benn Has Big Three-Point Night
The Stars have been an offensive powerhouse this season, mainly thanks to the same four heroes. Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, and Roope Hintz have carried most of the offensive weight. However, other players have stepped up recently. Last week, it was Matt Duchene. Last night, it was Benn.
Benn assisted on Duchene’s goal at 1:55 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2, and scored at 11:57, as the Stars entered the locker room with a 4-2 lead.
After the Blues tied the game 4-4 with just under five minutes left in regulation, Miro Heiskanen set up Benn for a perfect one-timer on one knee that he put right over Binnington with just 23 seconds left to give the Stars the win.
Third Period Continues to Plague the Stars
I’ve said it before, but the Stars continue to cough up third-period leads. In the last two (ish) weeks, they’ve done it against the Blues three times, as well as the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 29 and the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Yes, every time they find a way to win, and there’s something to be said about that.
“We don’t want to be giving up goals (late in the third), but finding ways to win these is big and getting two points is important,” Benn said on Wednesday night. “Always something to work on as a group. We’re not perfect by any means, but I like the way we find ways to win. Get some rest, come back, and work at our game. We’re in for a sprint after these Olympics, and it’ll be fun.”
“I thought we were very good through two [periods]. Better than we were any of the previous two matches against them,” head coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Early on, I thought we were a little too loose in the third. We weren’t pushing, we were a little complacent, I felt. Couple of turnovers early, just kind of fed their attack. They made us take a penalty early, and then we started to press a little bit after it was 4-3. I give them credit. They came out and played hard. This series of three games, they deserved better fates than losing in the last minutes.”
The fact that the Stars won all three meetings with a last-minute goal is remarkable. But it is not sustainable. Eventually, these games are going to catch up to them. However, the Stars believe they are pushing in the right direction.
“I think we’ve seen it a lot these last few games, our details are a lot better. It showed up in the game, and I think we were more consistent from shift to shift,” Bourque said. ” We felt like our details were not really good since Christmas. We showed the way we can play, and now it’s just to stick with it and show it game after game.”
Stars Earn a Little Vacay
The 2026 Winter Olympics are upon us. Seven Stars are heading to Milano, Italy, to represent their country, while the rest of the roster will get some much-needed rest. Dallas enters the break on a six-game winning streak and will be back in action on Feb. 25 at home against the Seattle Kraken, and again on the 28th against the Nashville Predators.
