Dallas, Texas Stars Fall 2-1 in Shootout as Werenski Ties It Late in Columbus

The Dallas Stars left Columbus with one point instead of two on Thursday night. Dallas led 1-0 late in the third period at Nationwide Arena, but Zach Werenski scored with 3:14 left in regulation and the Columbus Blue Jackets won the shootout to take a 2-1 victory.

A goaltending duel for two periods

Neither team scored in the first two periods. Columbus goalie Cam Talbot made a glove save to rob Esa Lindell 9:14 into the second period, and he later turned away Jason Robertson on a breakaway with a pad save with 3:15 left in the second. Dallas nearly scored at the end of that period, but a shot crossed the goal line a fraction of a second too late to count.

Casey DeSmith matched Talbot at the other end. DeSmith finished with 29 saves on 30 shots in regulation and overtime, while Talbot stopped 27 of 28 shots for his fifth win in eight games this season.

Rantanen breaks through, Werenski answers

Mikko Rantanen finally opened the scoring 6:27 into the third period. An Ivan Provorov clearing attempt deflected off the net and into the slot, where Wyatt Johnston got a shot that Talbot saved. Rantanen was in position to convert the rebound for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

The goal pushed Columbus to respond, and DeSmith had to make a run of saves as the Blue Jackets pressed. Werenski, who had hit a post early in the first period, finally broke through at 16:46 of the third. He took a pass from Kent Johnson, got the puck in the low slot and flipped a backhand past DeSmith. It was Werenski's first goal of the season, in his 14th game, on his fifth shot of the night.

Shootout decides it

Overtime settled nothing, and Columbus recorded the only two goals of the shootout. Valeri Nichushkin and Kent Johnson scored in the second and third rounds, and Talbot stopped the only on-target Dallas shot. Columbus improved to 5-0 this season in games decided beyond regulation, won its second straight game and avenged a 3-1 loss to Dallas in Dallas last Saturday.

Dallas fell to 9-5-2 overall and is 2-2-1 in its last five games. The Stars earned a point on the road, but the late tying goal turned a regulation win into a shootout loss.