Stars forge 3-goal lead, hold off Jets

Mikko Rantanen picked up three assists as the Dallas Stars won their fourth consecutive game, defeating the host Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Esa Lindell, Roope Hintz, Alexander Petrovic, and Jason Robertson got the goals for Dallas, and Wyatt Johnston had two helpers. Casey DeSmith made 30 saves.

Mark Scheifele scored twice for Winnipeg, while Logan Stanley provided the other tally. Kyle Connor had two assists. Eric Comrie made 15 stops.

Just 44 seconds into the first period with the Jets struggling to get the puck out of their zone, Lindell stepped into a loose puck and fired into the top corner on the Stars' first shot of the night.

Winnipeg pushed back late in the frame. Gabe Vilardi came closest to equalizing by ringing a wrist shot off the right post with 5:21 remaining.

Dallas doubled its lead 1:16 into the second period on the power play. After a flurry of pressure, Hintz chipped a loose puck past DeSmith to make it 2-0.

Just 1:15 later, Petrovic finished off a dump-and-chase cycle, stretching the Stars' lead to 3-0.

The Jets finally broke through at 11:04 when Connor intercepted a misplayed pass from behind the Dallas net by Nils Lundkvist. Connor fed Scheifele in the slot, and the Jets captain snapped a shot past DeSmith to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Winnipeg pulled within one with 1:08 left in the middle period, seconds after a power play expired, to close the deficit to 3-2. Josh Morrissey launched a stretch pass that forced the Stars out of position, springing Scheifele for his second of the game.

The Stars restored their two-goal lead with their second power-play marker of the night, this time off the stick of Robertson at 4:46 of the third period, pushing the score to 4-2.

The Jets struck back just 1:08 later. Stanley drove into the slot and fired a shot through traffic, then followed up to bury his own rebound and bring Winnipeg back within one at 4-3, but that's as close as the Jets would get.

--Field Level Media