The Dallas Stars win their seventh straight with a dominant performance against the Kraken.

After clinching a playoff spot Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks on the road, the Dallas Stars set their sights on Climate Heritage Arena for the final game of a four-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken.

Dallas still had plenty to play for: keeping the top spot in both the Central Division and the Western Conference, extending their winning streak to seven games, and tying their franchise record of 25 road wins in a season.

The Stars checked all those boxes with a 3-0 shutout over the Kraken to sweep their four-game road trip and increase their Central Division lead by three points over the Colorado Avalanche. They also maintained the top spot in the Western Conference.

It was as dominant a performance on the road as the Stars have had all season, even if they only had three goals to show for it. They outshot Seattle 30-17, had a 68-44 advantage in shot attempts, and won 61.4% of their faceoffs.

Dallas took control from the get-go with multiple good looks. Jamie Benn made a bid to extend his goal streak to seven games with a shot in front, but Kraken goalie Joey Daccord snuffed it out with a great save.

The Stars continued to fire one volley of shots after another at Daccord, but the Kraken netminder proved to be up to the challenge. Dallas had 11 shots on goal to the Kraken's 3 in the period, and had a big advantage in shot attempts, 32-12. They were 58.8% in the faceoff circle. Seattle did manage to block 11 shots, keeping the game scoreless heading into the first intermission.

The stellar goaltending continued early in the second period. Jason Robertson had a wide open net, but his shot was blocked by Oliver Bjorkstrand. The Kraken finally began to put pressure on Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, getting eight shots on goal in the period to the Stars' nine, but Oettinger kept Seattle off the board.

The game was free of penalties until 13:25 of the second period, when Craig Smith took down Jamie Oleksiak. The Stars penalty-kill unit, ranked 10th in the NHL at 81.4%, withstood the threat.

Finally, at the 18:12 mark of the second frame, Wyatt Johnston tipped in a point shot from Nils Lundkvist off a faceoff to put the Stars up 1-0, giving them the momentum they had been striving for the whole game.

The action got a bit feisty just after the third period began. Stars defenseman Chris Tanev was rammed into the boards by Adam Larsson and headed to the dressing room holding his right arm. The hit looked serious enough to harbor doubts that Tanev would return.

The tough-as-nails defenseman came back on the ice briefly but was unable to finish the game. According to coach Pete DeBoer, Tanev will undergo more tests after the team returns to Dallas.

Larsson was called for elbowing and handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Dallas cashed in eight seconds into the power play. Joe Pavelski got the rebound after a misdirection and snapped a shot by Daccord from the slot for a 2-0 Stars lead.

The goal was Pavelski's 26th goal of the season and 475th of his career, tying him for 55th all-time in NHL history with Bernie Nichols. He has recorded points in seven of eight career regular season games against Seattle.

The Kraken got a chance at a power play at the 13:41 mark when Thomas Harley was called for tripping. Dallas successfully killed its second penalty in as many chances.

With 2:47 left in regulation, Seattle pulled Daccord for the sixth attacker, but to no avail. Roope Hintz put the final nail in Seattle's coffin with a backhand empty net goal from the offensive blueline for the 3-0 final. Johnston got the assist, giving him 100 points in just his second NHL season.

The win ties a franchise record of seven consecutive wins for the Stars, who also equal their record for most road wins in a season (25). They move to 47-19-9 overall on the season, 25-9-5 on the road, and finished the month of March winning 12 of their last 14 games.

Oettinger has won his last five starts. The shutout was his second of the season and ninth of his career.

Through the course of a season, teams have to learn how to win in a number of ways. The Stars are showing they can score in bunches, or squeak by with solid defense and outstanding goaltending. When some of their top players go through scoring droughts, others step up to fill in the gaps.

While the Vancouver Canucks were the only playoff-bound team the Stars faced on this current road trip, they haven't allowed themselves to play down to weaker opponents, something they tended to do throughout the season. They're taking what the schedule gives them and are proving they can play up to tougher competition, particularly on the road.

Dallas returns home for a few days of rest before hosting the Edmonton Oilers, who sit eight points behind Vancouver in second place in the Pacific Division.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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