Jamie Benn scored 32 seconds into overtime and the Dallas Stars downed the host Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Saturday.
Benn made a steal at center ice, skated into the Wings’ zone along the left side and flipped a shot over goaltender Jonathan Bernier’s right shoulder. Benn’s 10th goal of the season gave Dallas its sixth win in eight games against Detroit this season.
Bernier made a career-high 50 saves for the Red Wings (17-25-8, 42 points). Dennis Cholowski scored his first goal of the season.
Mark Pysyk scored in regulation for the Stars (20-15-12, 52 points), while Anton Khudobin made 16 saves.
The Stars, who are dueling Nashville and Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division, spent much of the game getting frustrated by Bernier. Benn had five shots on goal and a handful of his teammates had four apiece.
Dallas dominated the first period and had two power play opportunities, but Bernier made 21 saves and Detroit emerged with a 1-0 lead. Cholowski, who spent much of the season in the American Hockey League, wristed a shot from the left circle which snuck inside the crossbar at 16:17.
Evgeny Svechnikov and Richard Panik were credited with the assists.
The Stars’ offensive siege continued throughout the second period, as they took the first 15 shots on goal. Jamie Oleksiak’s backhander midway through the period hit the goalpost. Valtteri Filppula finally forced Khudobin to make a save 12 minutes into the period.
By the end of it, Dallas held a 41-6 shots advantage and still hadn’t scored.
After the Stars killed off Detroit’s first power play of the game, Dallas’ Roope Hintz hit the goalpost.
Shortly thereafter, Dallas finally beat Bernier at 3:52 of the period. Bernier stopped an Oleksiak shot and the rebound bounced off Jason Robertson’s skate and off the goalpost. Pysyk won the scrum for the puck and scored his second goal this season.
His only other goal this season came against Carolina on Feb. 11.
–Field Level Media