The Dallas Stars are one win away from their third straight trip to the Western Conference Final, after a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.
Mikael Granlund scored three goals for the Stars, while Jake Oettinger made 31 saves on 32 shots.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets, while Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves on 24 shots.
Granlund opened the scoring for Dallas at 8:36 on the power play for his second goal of the postseason. Granlund took a pass from Harley at his own blue line and went end to end, and finished it off with a snap shot that beat Hellebuyck low glove side.
The Jets tied the game at 1:02 of the second period, just after their power play expired, on a snap shot from Ehlers on a tough angle in the right corner of the offensive zone.
Granlund scored his second of the night at 17:52 moments after Oettinger made the save of the night on Kyle Connor. Granlund elected to shoot the puck on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Hellebuyck glove side again, this time top-shelf.
At 7:23 of the third period, with three seconds left of a four-minute power play, Granlund completed the hat trick with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Miro Heiskanen in the mid-slot. The assist was Heiskanen’s first point in his first game back after missing 42 games due to knee surgery.
The Jets outshot the Stars 32-24 but went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Stars went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.
Game 5 is on Thursday night back at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!