DALLAS -- Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp scored in the shootout, and the Dallas Stars ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at American Airlines Center on Thursday.
Seguin opened the tiebreaker by snapping a shot past Jets rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Sharp started the second round by scoring on a backhand shot. Jets captain Andrew Ladd wristed a shot under goaltender Kari Lehtonen's blocker to keep Winnipeg alive, and Dallas captain Jamie Benn hit the crossbar. But Winnipeg forward Bryan Little hit the post, ending the game.
"It was a big game for a lot of reasons. We weren't happy with the way we played last road trip, but it's a Central Division opponent, we're on home ice. For any number of reasons, you can circle this one," Sharp said. "We can be happy we got the two points, but we can still play better than I think we did tonight."
Seguin scored in the first period and Lehtonen made 32 saves for Dallas (29-10-4), which is 17-4-0 at home but was coming off an 0-2-1 trip against the three New York-area teams.
"I thought [Lehtonen] looked real solid," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "He bounced back, and, like a lot of guys, pitched a lot better of a performance. We stayed away from the breakaways, the 2-on-1s, that type of stuff, but he looked every comfortable and very confident, and it seemed like the night that I didn't know if they were going to score on him."
Mathieu Perreault had a goal in the second period for Winnipeg (19-19-3), which finished 2-2-1 on a five-game road trip. Hellebuyck made 23 saves.
"Our schedule has been a lot to handle, and being able to pick up some really key points and wins on this road trip has put us in a good spot," said Jets coach Paul Maurice, whose team plays nine of its next 10 games at home. "We know, everybody in the Central [Division] knows, this is going to be an absolute slugfest right to the end. But we're in striking range now."
Seguin scored 7:55 into the game, slipping a wrist shot from the slot under Hellebuyck's glove after an attempted pass by Sharp from behind the net deflected off the stick of Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba. It was Seguin's 24th goal, tying him with Benn and St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko for the NHL lead. Seguin is third in the NHL with 51 points.
"I think sometimes something fresh and new is good. I think there were a lot of guys playing on different lines tonight, and you just try and find energy," Seguin said. "It's always the coaches' decision, anything giving me or any of the other guys an extra step, you've got to be happy about."
Sharp's assist extended his point streak to 11 games, the longest of his career and the second-longest in the NHL this season.
Winnipeg tied it when Perreault beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot from the slot 6:47 into the second period, when the Jets outshot the Stars 12-4.
"We battled hard," Perreault said. "That's what it comes down to, battles on the wall. All little details we're doing in the d-zone, that's working for us. We just go to keep building on that and hopefully can rack a few wins up."
Sharp had a great opportunity to put Dallas ahead with 6:36 remaining in the third period with the teams playing 4-on-4, but Hellebuyck got his left pad in front of his wrist shot from the slot. Benn had a chance to put Dallas ahead with 4:04 remaining, but Hellebuyck recovered after his wrist shot from the left circle first struck him in the mask and then bounced off the top of his head, causing him to lose the puck momentarily.
"He was good," Maurice said of Hellebuyck's performance. "He stood there for long stretches and then got post-to-post on a couple, really impressed with him."
The Jets got a power play in overtime when Sharp was called for tripping Perreault near the Dallas blue line, but the Stars were able to kill off the penalty. Winnipeg outshot the Stars 5-2 in overtime.
Stars defenseman Jordie Benn missed the game with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.
"In fairness to Jordie, he's been hurting for a while. He's been playing through an injury, and for me, it was affecting the way he played, so I took him out of the game," Ruff said.
Winnipeg begins a three-game homestand Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres; Dallas concludes a two-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
"Skill competition against these guys, it's going to be tough," Winnipeg forward Blake Wheeler said. "I liked the way we played the rest of the game."
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