Stars' Top Line Draws Twitter Praise in Game 5 Win vs. Kraken

It might be time to come up with a nickname for the Stars' deadly top line.

Joe Pavelski scored, Jason Robertson racked up three assists and Roope Hintz tallied twice as the Stars won Game 5 over the Seattle Kraken, 5-2, Thursday night in Dallas.

The Stars lead the second-round series, 3-2.

Hintz now has 18 points in 11 playoff games, tying the Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead. He holds the Dallas franchise record for points in a single postseason, per the NHL on TNT broadcast.

Robertson, whose goalless drought has now extended to a rare six games, recorded helpers on each of Hintz's goals as well as Pavelski's tally.

The Stars scored twice on their first three shots. Wyatt Johnston and Hintz both tallied in the first six minutes, and the Kraken headed into the period break trailing 2-0 despite leading in shots, 14-5.

Pavelski made it three-nil for Dallas with his seventh goal of the postseason just 35 seconds into the second period, but the Kraken responded under two minutes later with a goal from defenseman Adam Larsson to get the visitors on the board.

Seattle tried to gain momentum from Larsson's tally by double-shifting 40-goal scorer Jared McCann. That paid off when McCann scored off of a defender's skate seven minutes into the second, cutting the Stars' lead to 3-2.

In the third period, confusion took over American Airlines Center as referees waved for play to continue after Hintz scored top-shelf over Philipp Grubauer's blocker. The play was whistled dead moments later, and fans began a belated celebration as the Stars regained a late two-goal lead, 4-2. An empty-net tally sealed the win.

The Stars now have the chance to close out the series in Seattle, where the Kraken will fight to extend their season Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.