A look back on three top plays that impacted the Dallas Stars this past week.

It's been a week of milestones for the Dallas Stars. They took over the top spot in both the Central Division and the Western Conference, clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season, tied a franchise-long seven game winning streak and equaled their franchise record of most road wins in a season with 25.

Let's take a look at three key plays that helped bring about those milestones.

1. Stars at Sharks: Marchment Hits 20

The Stars may not be loaded with 30, 40 or 50-goal scorers, but they can boast the most players with 20 or more this season.

Mason Marchment reached 20 goals on the season with a beauty that gave Dallas a 2-0 lead last Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks on the road. That put the number of players with 20 or more goals at seven, tops in the NHL.

Marchment took the puck at center ice, skated past Nico Sturm in the neutral zone, then got past Kyle Burroughs down the right wing and nailed one past Mackenzie Blackwood short side from the bottom of the circle at the 16:28 mark of the first period.

The Stars would go on to win 6-3, stretching their winning streak to five. The victory alsoput them back in first place in the Central Division and gave them the overall lead in the Westerrn Conference by one point over the Vancouver Canucks, a team that just so happened to be next on their four-game road trip. 

2. Stars at Canucks: Benn There, Done That, Again

Rogers Arena hasn't been a friendly host to the Stars in recent years. Dallas was 0-4-0 over their last four games in Vancouver, with the last win coming on November 14, 2019.

But the Canucks were facing a Stars team that was looking for a sixth straight win. They were also looking to become the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff berth.

Jamie Benn made sure the ghosts of past losses in Vancouver would no longer haunt his team. The captain scored a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to eight games (7-5-12). The goal came on a power play at 16:52 of the third period, when he took a feed from Joe Pavelski and hit a one-timer in the slot past the glove of Canucks netminder Casey DeSmith.

The goal, which was Benn's 18th of the season, broke a 1-1 tie and proved to be the difference-maker. Benn extended his goal-scoring streak to six games. Dallas won 3-1, assuring themselves of a playoff spot.

3. Stars at Kraken: Power Play Pavelski

The Stars' four-game road swing ended Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena as they faced the Seattle Kraken.

After a big win in Vancouver, it would have been natural to allow Seattle to lur them into a trap game. That didn't happen, as the Stars dominated in a 3-0 victory to tie their franchise record with seven straight wins.

Just 19 seconds into the third period with Dallas ahead 1-0, Seattle's Adam Larsson elbowed Chris Tanev, sending him crashing into the side boards. Tanev went to the dressing room holding his arm, and Larsson was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing.

Joe Pavelski made the Kraken pay nine seconds into the power play. Pavelski redirected a Roope Hintz pass in the slot, found the loose puck and chipped it in from the slot over Seattle goalie Joey Daccord.

That put the Stars ahead 2-0, and Roope Hintz potted an empty-netter at the 18:43 mark of the third period for a 3-0 Dallas win.

Pavelski's goal was his 25th of the season, and he leads the team in power play goals with 10. Just call him Power Play Pavelski; he won't mind.

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

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