DALLAS (AP) — Thomas Harley scored on a power play 1:33 into overtime and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final for the third season in a row, beating the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday night.
Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets hours after the unexpected death of his father, but also had the tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left in regulation that set up Dallas to start overtime with a man advantage.
Sam Steel, who scored earlier for Dallas, was on a partial breakaway when Scheifele lunged forward desperately trying to make a play when he tripped up the forward at the blue line — an infraction that could have resulted in a penalty shot. The Stars called a timeout, but missed a shot and had another one blocked before the end of regulation time.
The Stars move on to face the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference final for the second year in a row, and will host Game 1 on Wednesday. Connor McDavid and the Oilers, who won in six games last year, wrapped up their second-round series with a 1-0 overtime win over Vegas on Wednesday night in Game 5.
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger made 22 saves to wrap up his sixth playoff series win over the past three seasons. He made an incredible diving save with 8 1/2 minutes left in regulation, leaning to the right before having to lunge back across his body toward the left post to knock down a shot by Mason Appleton.
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Hellebuyck, the two-time Vezina Trophy who is the odds-on favourite to win that top goalie award again this season, stopped 18 shots.
Dallas has won all three of its overtime games this post-season. It was only the second OT game for the Jets, who scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation in Game 7 of the first round and then beat the St. Louis Blues.
Steel got his first goal of the playoffs midway through the second period. He shot a long rebound from the top of the right circle, sending the puck into the upper right corner of the net just above Hellebuyck’s glove.
Scheifele got his fifth goal of the playoffs when he gathered the rebound of Kyle Connor’s shot and scored from just outside the crease 5 1/2 minutes into the second period. That score came before a whistle blew for a delayed penalty, a high stick by Oettinger into the face of Gabriel Vilardi, who got the secondary assist for his pass to Connor.
After pumping his fist to celebrate, Scheifele had a huge smile on this face when mobbed by his teammates that were on the ice for the goal that made it 1-0.
That was all set up after Nikolaj Ehlers had a breakaway shot that was knocked away by Oettinger and retrieved by Scheifele.
Hellebuyck withstood a 46-second flurry late in the first period when the Stars had eight shots — three that were on goal, along with four misses and one that was blocked.
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