Boston did not leave Dallas looking like a team whose winning streak had been a misunderstanding. The Bruins blocked 22 attempts, restricted the Stars to two shots reaching Swayman during the third period and finished a four-game trip with a 3-0-1 record. They still lost Tuesday.
That is part of what makes Dallas’ 3-2 overtime victory valuable. The Stars ended Boston’s five-game winning streak and earned their own third consecutive win, improving to 5-3-1. They did it against an opponent that presented real resistance, rather than offering a convenient evening in which every offensive idea could look sound.
Mikko Rantanen provided the result with a hat trick, scoring the overtime winner with the clock at 3:52. Boston twice had a one-goal lead before that. Dallas had to recover each one and remain close enough for the next chance to matter.
Swayman finished with 22 saves and Oettinger 18, keeping both goaltenders inside a game with little scoreboard room. The performance was competitive in ways that a simple description of three consecutive victories cannot capture.
The first deficit began early. Matthew Poitras scored at 2:09 of the opening period, giving Boston an immediate advantage. Dallas had a 9-7 edge in first-period shots but no goal to show for it. Possession of a modest statistical edge had not bought the Stars any relief on the scoreboard.
Rantanen equalized during the second period, converting the rebound from Jason Robertson’s poke attempt. James Hagens then restored Boston’s advantage by redirecting Casey Mittelstadt’s feed. The Bruins had answered Dallas’ recovery rather than allowing that first equalizer to become the beginning of an easy home-team progression.
That response is important when deciding what Dallas proved. A team can take encouragement from solving a demanding opponent without claiming that every part of its own game worked. The Stars had periods of useful attacking work, then a third period in which very little reached Jeremy Swayman. Boston deserves credit for making the available openings scarce.
Rantanen made one count with 6:22 left in regulation. Roope Hintz’s attempt was blocked before the puck reached him near the right circle, and his finish restored the tie. It was another Dallas response to a difficult situation, not evidence that the Stars had spent the period controlling Boston comfortably.
Special teams gave that recovery somewhere to lead. Dallas killed all four Bruins power plays. In overtime, Thomas Harley drew a slashing penalty against Pavel Zacha, creating the four-on-three advantage on which Rantanen scored. Boston had denied Dallas repeatedly during regulation, but could not finish the final defensive assignment.