Dallas Stars rout Seattle Kraken, 6-3, tie Western Conference semifinal series

Max Domi had two goals and an assist as the Dallas Stars defeated the host Seattle Kraken 6-3 Tuesday night, evening their Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday in Dallas.

Jamie Benn, Thomas Harley and Roope Hintz each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Joe Pavelski also scored for the Stars, his sixth of the series, and Evgenii Dadonov had two assists.

“We know what happened last game wasn’t good enough (a 7-2 loss in Game 3 on Sunday), and I think as a whole we had everyone going and everyone bounced back nice,” Domi said. “I just think everyone was hungrier than the last game, and it showed. Everyone wanted to win every battle out there and win every puck, and I think everyone did that.”

Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, wearing a full face shield after getting hit with a puck on Seattle’s opening goal in a 7-2 Kraken win in Game 3, added an assist. Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, pulled after two periods on Sunday, rebounded to make 16 saves en route to the victory on Tuesday.

Jaden Schwartz scored twice, Adam Larsson also tallied and Vince Dunn logged two assists for the Kraken. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer allowed five goals on 22 shots before being pulled at the second intermission. Martin Jones stopped both shots he faced in the third period.

“It was unreal. [The defense] made it really easy on me,” Oettinger said. “It’s not always going to be one goal on 40 shots, so whatever it takes, and the win is the most important thing, and we were the better team.”

The Stars took the lead on a power play at 17:13 of the first period. Hintz skated the puck down the middle of the ice, crossed the blue line and dropped a pass for Benn, whose wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle beat Grubauer to the upper left corner of the net.

Harley made it 2-0 on a rush at 4:46 of the second period, taking a pass from Domi and beating Grubauer with a wrist shot high to the glove side from the slot.

Domi scored a contested goal at 9:25 of the period. Seattle challenged, contending Benn had run into Grubauer before the shot, but a video review let the original call stand and the Kraken were assessed a delay-of-game penalty.

On the ensuing power play, Pavelski tapped a rebound into the open side of the net at 10:50 to make it 4-0.

The Kraken got on the scoreboard at 11:46 of the second, with Schwartz tipping Justin Schultz’s pass past Oettinger.

The Stars re-established their four-goal lead as Hintz forced a turnover in the Seattle end and headed for the net to score on a rebound of Benn’s shot at 19:07 of the middle period.

“Second period, we were just late to everything,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We were a step behind in terms of getting there offensively, forecheck wise, and on the flip side, defensively we were just late getting there.”

Schwartz scored his second on a one-timer from the slot at 3:24 of the third with an extra attacker on the ice because of a delayed penalty call against the Stars.

Larsson scored on a slap shot from the left point at 15:49 to pull Seattle within 5-3.

Domi’s empty-net goal at 17:39 sealed the outcome.

Star-Telegram sports editor Dave Ammenheuser contributed to this Field Level Media story.