Panthers score three goals in final 3:29 to beat Stars, extend dominance on the road

Aleksandr Barkov tallied two goals and an assist to lead the Florida Panthers to a wild 4-3 comeback win over the host Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

Dallas led 3-1 after two periods and the Panthers erupted for three goals within a 3:29 span in the final period. Barkov scored two power-play goals during that surge, with the forward’s deflected goal at 14:38 mark standing as the winner.

Sam Bennett scored the equalizer in between Barkov’s two tallies. Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour each had two assists.

“They’re a great team over there,” Tkachuk said of the Stars. “They’re definitely a powerhouse in the West. They have a lot of great players and play a great team game. You’ve got to give them credit, they dominated us most of the night. And you have to give us credit, we found a way in the end.”

The Panthers lead the NHL in overall points (94) and road points (50). Florida is 15-1-0 in its last 16 road games and 18-3-0 in its last 21 games overall.

Sergei Bobrovsky was often spectacular in stopping 27 of 30 Dallas shots. Bobrovsky’s highlight reel included robbing Logan Stankoven early in the first period and denying Matt Duchene during a Stars power play early in the third period.

“Even though it was 3-0, it could’ve easily been 8-0,” Tkachuk said of the Panthers goaltender. “It actually could’ve been. He did a great job of keep us in it. We told him to shut the door in the third period and we’d find a way to win, and we did.”

Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Jake Oettinger stopped 26 of 30 shots.

The loss snapped the Stars’ five-game winning streak and their eight-game (6-0-2) points streak on home ice.

The Panthers were 3 for 4 on the power play and are 11 for 29 with the extra attacker through their last nine games. The Stars’ penalty kill has been going in the opposite direction, killing only 13 of 21 penalties in their past seven games.

Pavelski put Dallas ahead at 3:53 of the first period, as a defensive breakdown from the Panthers sprung Pavelski and Robertson for a 2-on-0 rush.

Robertson scored on a power play at 7:48 of the second period, and Johnston extended the Stars’ lead with a tip-in just 23 seconds later. Robertson has 10 points (four goals, six assists) over a seven-game points streak.

Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal at 12:52 of the second period got the Panthers on the board.

“It stopped the bleeding,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “You go into the third period down three [goals] and it’s quite a bit tougher. The dreaded 3-1 lead, you know you’re just one shot away from changing the mood in the room and the tenor of the game.”