Heiskanen's final pass sends Hintz away to end 3-2 Dallas win

Roope Hintz scored the winning goal at 3:47 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center on Thursday night. The deciding play began with a defensive stop by Jason Robertson, who blocked a Winnipeg scoring chance before Miro Heiskanen sent Hintz in on a breakaway.

Heiskanen did not score, but his outlet pass defined the final minute of the game. The sequence turned a recovery into an immediate attack. Heika reported that a Robertson turnover initially created the Winnipeg chance, meaning the sequence was a shared recovery rather than a solo play by the Finnish defenseman.

The win came at a cost to the Dallas defensive corps. With Esa Lindell scratched, Heiskanen played 29:20 and Thomas Harley logged 28:27. The next Dallas defender, Lian Bichsel, appeared for 17:47, while Nils Lundkvist, Tyler Myers and Kyle Capobianco also saw ice time. The minutes show how heavily the Stars relied on their top two defensemen for the entire contest.

Dallas trailed for much of the game. Josh Morris opened the scoring early in the second period, but Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor answered to put Winnipeg ahead. The Stars remained behind until Hintz scored a six-on-five equalizer with two minutes left in regulation.

The shot count suggested Dallas should have won more comfortably. The Stars outshot Winnipeg 38-19, but Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves to keep the game close. The defense limited Winnipeg's chances, but the offense could not convert the high volume of attempts into goals until the final minutes.

Heiskanen finished the game with five shots, one block and the winning assist. Harley also went without a goal, but neither defenseman needed to score for their minutes to matter in a game decided by a single finish. The Stars completed the assignment in front of them.