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 Dallas (39-29-11), which holds a two-point lead on the Phoenix
Coyotes for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference,
pulled ahead twice only to see the Predators tie the game both
times.
"Our energy was real good early, and the energy starting slipping
away," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "These guys are giving it
everything they want. That's the impressive part."
Center Tyler Seguin scored the clincher in the shootout, firing a
wrist shot over the glove of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne as the
Stars' fourth shooter.
Nashville defenseman Roman Josi had scored on the Predators' third
attempt with a shot that trickled through the five-hole of Dallas
goalie Kari Lehtonen. However, the Stars forced the extra round when
center Vernon Fiddler scored after falling down earlier on his
attempt.
"That was something else," Fiddler said of his shootout goal. "I
obviously had a little skate issue there before. They tried to fix
it, our trainer did. He told me not to turn that way, but I didn't
listen to him. Maybe I should have listened to him, but I was just
thankful that it caught my other edge."
The Stars received goals from defenseman Alex Goligoski and left
winger Jamie Benn in the victory. Lehtonen stopped 27 shots.
"Kari's been huge for us the whole year," Fiddler said of Lehtonen.
"If we're going to make our push here, he's going to have to
continue to be our best player."
Nashville (35-32-12) got two goals from center Gabriel Bourque, but
was eliminated from playoff contention.
"It's frustrating," Predators defenseman Shea Weber said of missing
the playoffs for a second straight year. "I hate it. Everyone in
here hates it. It's obvious something's got to change, something's
got to get better and we got to find a way to get into the
postseason."
The Stars scored first when Goligoski punished Rinne with a wrister
to his short side 2:23 into the opening period. Goligoski's shot,
which sailed under Rinne's glove, came from the right circle. It was
his sixth of the season.
Nashville pulled the game level 1:22 into the second period when
Bourque got the better of Lehtonen with a one-timer on the short
side.
Benn put Dallas ahead again with his 34th of the season on a wrister
that chewed up Rinne at 8:16 of the middle period. After receiving a
pass from rookie right winger Valeri Nichushkin near center ice,
Benn raced up the left side and finished the rush with a shot that
deflected in off Rinne's glove.
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Nashville broke through for a second equalizer to make it 2-2 with
9:36 remaining in regulation when Bourque struck for a second time.
Dallas defenseman Brenden Dillon committed a costly error that led
directly to the goal, a flippant pass from the left corner that was
intercepted behind the Stars' net by Nashville center Paul Gaustad.
Gaustad then alertly flipped the puck to Bourque, who was rushing
toward the Dallas net, and Bourque culminated the sequence with a
goal over Lehtonen's glove.
"I thought that was probably our most effective line tonight,"
Predators coach Barry Trotz said of the line featuring Bourque and
Gaustad. "Obviously, they got both of our goals but they were really
quite good."
One reason why Nashville was able to force overtime was because
Dallas was careless with the puck, finishing with 21 giveaways
compared to just five by the Predators.
"There's two things it (that stat) tells me-there's some fatigue in
our game, and some guys feel the pressure," Ruff said. "I've already
talked to several guys that we need to make plays. If the opposition
makes a great play defending us, I'll live with that, but I don't
want these turnovers."
Rinne stopped 28 shots.
NOTES: Predators D Michael Del Zotto and RW Patrick Eaves (lower
body) were scratched. ... Stars D Kevin Connauton, C Rich Peverley
(irregular heartbeat), D Aaron Rome and LW Ray Whitney (lower body)
were scratched. ... Nashville LW Eric Nystrom spent the past two
seasons in Dallas before signing with the Predators last offseason.
... The goal by Stars D Alex Goligoski early in the first period was
his first since March 6 at Vancouver, a span of 15 games. ...
Nashville and Dallas met for the second time in 11 days. The Stars
won 7-3 in Dallas on March 28. ... Dallas LW Jamie Benn, who scored
in the second period, has three goals in his past four games. ...
Nashville rookie D Seth Jones spent much of his childhood in the
Dallas area and is a native of Arlington, Texas. ... The announced
attendance was 16,219.
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reserved.]
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