– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DALLAS — Just call Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley Mr. Overtime. When the game gets late, Harley comes through with his best, and he did for a second consecutive game to give his team another valuable two points.
Harley’s goal 3:26 into overtime spared the Stars’ blushes on Saturday afternoon, as Dallas recovered from allowing two goals in the final two minutes of regulation to defeat the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime at American Airlines Center. Mason Marchment had a goal and an assist while goalkeeper Jake Oettinger made 22 saves as the Stars have gone 4-0 in their last five games.
The win preceding today’s victory, a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, ended in overtime on a Harley goal. Today’s game-winner, on a low shot from the right circle, marked the third overtime goal of the season for Harley, who’s tied with Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and Montréal’s Cole Caufield for the most overtime goals this campaign.
“This is a first. I like it,” Harley said. “I liked the Anaheim one more because I actually aimed that shot. This one, [Matt Duchene] made a great play on the backcheck, then got up the ice on a 3-on-2. [Duchene] then drove the net and took that [defenseman] with him, made a great pass, and I just put it on net.”
Dallas appeared to be cruising to its victory in the third period, as Matt Duchene marked his 1,000th NHL game with a goal 2:24 in the third period to double the Stars’ lead to 4-2, which remained that way until a frantic final two minutes. Alexander Ovechkin scored on the power play — the 831st of his career — with two minutes remaining to halve the Stars lead before Dylan Strome’s goal with 42 seconds remaining, and with Washington’s net empty, tying the score.
Charlie Lindgren made 30 saves for the Capitals, who are 0-3-1 during their current four-game losing streak.
“That huge finish. We didn’t lay down in a really difficult game. That’s a really good hockey team,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Caused a lot of different issues for teams in general, but us as well. Credit our guys for not laying down and finding a way. Six-on-5 steps up huge, scores two goals to get that game to overtime. Would have liked to find a way to get that second point, but like I told them, that point could be very, very important down the road.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s contest, with photos taken by Dallas-area photographer Ross James. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 22 pictures in total.
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