Harley the OT hero again as Stars edge Capitals

DALLAS (AP) — Defenseman Thomas Harley scored at 3:27 of overtime for his second goal of the game and second overtime winner in two games as the Dallas Stars beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Saturday in each team’s last game before the NHL All-Star break.

“He’s hot right now,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. “I’m not sure of the bonus structure in his contract, but I think he’s starting to worry Jim (Nill, Stars general manager) and our cap-ologist.”

Dallas led 4-2 before a 6-on-4 goal by Alex Ovechkin and a 6-on-5 goal by Dylan Strome in the last two minutes of regulation sent the game into overtime.

Harley, 22, scored from the right faceoff circle on a 3-on-2 rush for his third overtime goal this season, the only NHL defenseman with more than one. He scored 38 seconds into overtime on Thursday night in Dallas’ 4-3 win over Anaheim.

“I liked the Anaheim one more ’cause I actually aimed that shot,” Harley said.

Harley has 11 goals this season after scoring one in his previous 40 NHL games.

Wyatt Johnston, Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene also scored and Jake Oettinger made 24 saves for the Stars, who are 18-3-3 against the Caps since the 2008-09 season.

Anthony Mantha and Rasmus Sandin also scored for the Capitals, who went 0-3-1 on a Central Division road trip. Charlie Lindgren stopped 30 shots making his sixth start in the Capitals’ last eight games.

The Capitals went into play five points out of a playoff berth, in danger of a second consecutive season without seeing the postseason for the first time since 2007.

“We didn’t lay down in a really difficult game,” first-year coach Spencer Carbery said. “That point could be very, very important.”

Duchene gave Dallas a 4-2 lead at 2:24 of the third period after being honored before the game for playing in his 1,000th career NHL game in early December.

Ovechkin scored at 18:00 of the third period on a power play after Lindgren left for the bench. It was his first goal in nine games for the NHL’s No. 2 all-time goals leader with 831, who has only nine this season.

Strome scored the tying goal at 19:17, poking in the puck after it dribbled behind Oettinger just to the left of the net at about the same time that referee TJ Luxmore lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle. After an officials conference, the goal was ruled good.

Ovechkin and Mantha each had a goal and an assist. Evgeny Kuznetsov had two assists for the Capitals.

Marchment and Duchene each had a goal and an assist. Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen had two assists each for Dallas.

Capitals forward Max Pacioretty left the game early in the third period with a lower-body injury.

Oettinger has won two of three games against Lindgren in the battle of NHL goalies from Minnesota’s Lakeville North High School. Lindgren, 30, played his senior season there in 2011-12. Oettinger, 25, was a freshman in 2013-14, then joined the USA Hockey National Development Team.

John Carlson assisted on Mantha’s goal for his 650th career point, the sixth most among active NHL defensemen.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host Montreal on Feb. 6.

Stars: Begin a three-game Atlantic Division road trip at Buffalo on Feb. 6.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl