The clock read 19:59 when Thomas Harley scored, which is a precise way for a first goal of the season to become larger than its place in the scoring summary. His even-strength finish gave Dallas a 2-0 lead after one period, and the Stars held on for a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Harley’s goal was the night’s hinge. Mikko Rantanen had already converted a power play at 2:16, but Dallas would have carried only a 1-0 advantage into the intermission without the defenseman’s finish. The second goal meant Dallas could concede once without surrendering the lead. That became a practical benefit rather than a theoretical one.
The first period was even on the shot clock, 9-9. Dallas then recorded five shots in the second and three in the third, while Columbus had nine in the second and seven in the third. The Blue Jackets finished with a 25-17 edge overall.
The extra goal before intermission acquired value with each period that passed without another Dallas goal. Dallas spent most of the night protecting a lead while producing very little additional offensive margin.
Dallas had already benefited from a goalie’s mistake. At 1:43, Greaves put Columbus short-handed by clearing the puck over the glass. Rantanen needed only 33 seconds to convert the opportunity, with Robertson and Johnston adding assists.
That opening score gave Harley something to extend. The second Dallas goal made a promising start considerably more durable. Harley made that special-teams success sturdier.
Arttu Hyry assisted on his goal, and Miro Heiskanen also received a helper. A two-goal lead did not make the Stars safe, especially as their shot total fell from nine to five to three across the periods. It did change the arithmetic of every Columbus attack.
The Blue Jackets needed two goals to erase the deficit; one successful sequence could bring them within one, but it could not tie the game.
That buffer became necessary in the third period. Damon Severson scored at 6:21, cutting Dallas’ lead to 2-1 with more than 13 minutes of regulation remaining. Jake Oettinger then became the most visible reason the margin held, finishing with 24 saves on 25 shots.
He stopped 21 of 22 at even strength and all three Columbus shots on the power play. Oettinger deserved the headline performance in a game where his team was outshot by eight. Columbus scored once on 22 even-strength shots, and the Dallas goaltender prevented the deficit from becoming a tie.
His late work also clarifies Harley’s value. Without the defenseman’s goal, every Columbus shot after Rantanen’s opener would have arrived with the visitors one finish from leveling the game. Harley supplied a buffer before the night became an examination of flawless goaltending.
