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Jamie Benn, game-winner! Stars captain ends goal drought as franchise players begin to turn the corner

Benn and Tyler Seguin have started looking like themselves on Dallas’ recent Canadian swing.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Whether in joy or disbelief, elation or relief, Jamie Benn lifted both arms toward the Western Canada sky, tilted his head back to see the Rogers Place ceiling and momentarily grabbed his face with his empty left hand.

The vignette unfolded moments after Benn lifted the Stars to a 5-4 overtime victory over Edmonton on Saturday afternoon with a smooth backhand goal, snapping a career-long 15-game goal drought for the Stars captain and giving Dallas its third straight win and 10th in the last 12 games.

“Ah, can’t believe it went in,” Benn said with a smirk.

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Benn scored just 74 seconds into overtime, finishing a 3-on-2 after Esa Lindell stripped Connor McDavid of the puck in the Stars’ zone. Benn collected it around Dallas’ blue line — “I gave it to the forwards because they’ve got better hands than me,” Lindell said — and ducked to the net on a give-and-go with Tyler Seguin. Benn deked around Darnell Nurse and then swept it past Mikko Koskinen.

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The goal drought was over. The win streak lived on.

Seguin scored the game-tying goal with 1:49 left in the third period, completing a third-period comeback after Dallas was down 4-2. Blake Comeau, Miro Heiskanen and Jason Dickinson also scored for the Stars as Anton Khudobin made 18 saves in relief of Ben Bishop.

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The Stars are now 10-1-1 in their last 12 games after starting the season 1-7-1. They have not lost in regulation in three weeks. They have scored at least four goals in half of the last dozen games. They have allowed two or fewer goals in eight of the last 12 games. Fourteen Stars have scored goals during the stretch. Dallas finished a weeklong road trip through Canada with three wins in 72 hours.

For Benn, the week started oddly but finished typically.

On Sunday, following the Stars’ overtime loss to Winnipeg, coach Jim Montgomery expressed disappointment in the performances of Benn and Seguin, saying, “They’ve got to decide that they want to be a difference maker.” Montgomery apologized two days later, and the points began to come after that.

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In the three games since Winnipeg, Benn has a goal and two assists. Seguin has two goals and three assists. For the franchise cornerstones, the last three games are what they are used to, and it’s what the Stars need from them to justify the lofty expectations heaped on them in the summer.

“I mean, the whole thing was blown out of proportion,” Benn said. “It wasn’t a big deal. Me and Segs didn’t think it was a big deal. We needed to play better. I thought we’ve played pretty good hockey since the no-big-deal whatever. Seven out of eight on the road; great job by our team.”

Montgomery said: “Don’t look for me to do it more often. That’s what I’ll say about that. You know what — they’re stud players in this league, and when they play like that, our team is going to be elite all the time. And now with the depth we have, and the support scoring that is underneath them, that’s why we think we can be an elite team. We still have a lot of steps to get there.”

Benn and Seguin aren’t just the two highest-paid players on the team, and they’re not just the ones who carry the most burden offensively. They’re also the two most trusted leaders. They wear letters every game and are responsible for the dressing room. It’s just easier when they’re also producing.

“Those two are our leaders,” Dickinson said. “Everyone falls in line behind them. When those guys are going, it’s easy for us to follow them. It’s easy when Chubbs [Benn] is playing the way he plays. It’s amazing because he controls the game. He sets the pace and the emotional level. It’s easy to ride his wave.”

After Thursday night in Vancouver, Montgomery praised Benn for his improved play and did so again Saturday morning, explaining that Benn was on the right side of pucks and carrying a shoot-first mentality.

Benn had four shots on goal against the Oilers, fourth on the Stars behind Seguin (seven), Heiskanen (seven) and Alexander Radulov (six).

“It’s a relief because he’s got rewarded for the past three games, where I think he’s been a stud and I think Seggy’s been a stud,” Montgomery said. “For them to get the goals at the big moments like they’ve done their whole career, like we said, it was just a matter of time before that tide would turn.”

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Bishop pulled: Montgomery pulled Bishop early for the second time this season, removing him just 3:34 into the second period, after Jujhar Khaira’s second goal gave Edmonton three goals on the first 15 shots.

“I thought he was just a little bit off,” Montgomery said. “We have two great goalies. We called one in, and [he] helped us win a game.”

Twitter: @MDeFranks