By Canadian Press

Pavelski scores again, Stars beat Kraken 4-2 to even series

May 4, 2023 | 10:47 PM

DALLAS (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored his fifth goal in two games since returning from concussion protocol with an assist from Wyatt Johnston, his 19-year-old rookie housemate who also scored a goal, and the Dallas Stars beat Seattle 4-2 on Thursday night to tie the second-round series at a game each.

Evgenii Dadonov added a nifty wraparound goal and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars, who like in their first-round series against Minnesota bounced back from an overtime loss at home in the opener to get even before hitting the road.

Game 3 is Sunday night in Seattle.

Tye Kartye and Jordan Eberle had goals for the Kraken.

Johnston, who has lived with Pavelski’s family this season, set up his mentor’s power-play goal when he initially whiffed at the puck before whipping around and sending it into the laid-out stick of goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Pavelski was there for the rebound and put the Stars up 3-1 with 3:03 left in the middle period.

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Pavelski scored all four Stars goals in Game 1, when they lost 5-4 in overtime. That was the 38-year-old forward’s first game since banging his head hard on the ice after a big hit in the opener of the Minnesota series April. 17.

Jake Oettinger had 25 saves for the Stars. Grubauer stopped 33 shots.

Before Pavelski’s latest goal, Kartye got the Kraken within 2-1 on a break when he took a long pass off the boards from Vince Dunn and got around defenseman Miro Heiskanen to score.

Johnston’s second career playoff goal came right after the end of a power play earlier in the second period for 1-0 lead. His 24 goals in the regular season tied for the NHL rookie lead.

Colin Miller had taken the shot from the top of the circle to the right of the net after he had gotten a cross-ice pass from Max Domi from the opposite circle. Johnston initially got his blade on the puck, knocking in his own rebound after it ricocheted off Grubauer’s chest.

Dadonov, a trade deadline addition, got his fourth goal of the playoffs when he skated around the net and sent the puck sliding across the line — and finally over it — for a 2-0 lead.

Seguin put the Stars up 4-1 with his fifth goal this postseason, the first at even strength, midway through the third period. The veteran center, the only Dallas player who has won a Stanley Cup, also had an assist.

NOTES: Pavelski extended his record for U.S.-born players to 69 career playoff goals. That is third among active players, trailing on Alex Ovechkin’s 72 and Sidney Crosby’s 71. … Stars captain Jamie Dixon and Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak both got holding penalties in the game’s opening minute after the former teammates were tangled together on the ice in the corner. Oleksiak, the Stars’ first-round pick in the 2011 who played parts of nine seasons in Dallas, was selected the Kraken in the expansion draft two years ago.

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AP NHL Playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press