The Wraparound: Dallas Stars Improvements Before Playoffs Just like in the first meeting between Dallas and Utah, Jamie Benn scored the game-winning goal and goaltender Casey DeSmith was outstanding between the pipes in a 3-2 victory. Another one goal win for the Stars in Utah sends Dallas into the Christmas break with much more joy and positivity after two losses in a row prior to this game. After two days off to dwell on the loss to the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/], Dallas was back in action for the final time before Christmas. A one-off road trip to Utah for the second time in December closed out the pre-holiday slate of games that saw the Stars drop out of a playoff spot entirely before puck drop Monday night. In fact, Dallas was tied with Utah at 38 points in the extremely competitive Central Division race. Utah had picked up a point the night prior in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks, and on the second game of a back-to-back at the Delta Center looked to take the lead in the standings over Dallas for the first time all season. The first period began much like the previous game in Utah finished earlier in the month, as DeSmith made his presence felt in between the pipes. DeSmith had robbed Utah of several sure goals in the 2-1 victory on Dec. 2, and Utah seemed destined to see his white pads in their nightmares once again. Utah finished the first period with a 6-0 advantage in high danger scoring chances, but the score didn't reflect the domination because of DeSmith's sharpness. To open the first period scoring, Colin Blackwell made an outstanding solo effort, puck-jacking three Utah players in the neutral zone, turning towards the net on a 2-on-1 and ripping the puck into the top of the net for a 1-0 lead, Oskar Back added an assist on the goal, making it five assists in the last eight games for the reliable fourth line forward. Blackwell continued a highly impactful first period on the penalty kill, where he anticipated a pass from the blue line, dove to intercept it, and cleared it to the neutral zone while prone on the ice. The penalty kill continued to shut down opponents for long stretches in this game. Before the first period ended, Utah tied it up on a point shot from Ian Cole, with Kevin Stenlund screening DeSmith perfectly at the top of the blue paint. The first intermission came with a 1-1 score on the board. Head coach Pete DeBoer decided to activate the line blender at the end of the first period. Blackwell was rewarded for his efforts, moving to the second line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. Logan Stankoven switched to the fourth line (albeit a very capable line) with Back and Sam Steel. Utah continued to dictate play for the initial part of the second period, but Dallas finally woke up and used a power play with several looks on goaltender Karel Vejmelka to shift momentum to their side. Vejmelka was suddenly asked to keep Utah in the game as Dallas started to pour on the intensity and Utah started showing fatigue from playing the night prior. The Stars were finally able to break the tie when Mavrik Borque and Roope Hintz completed a beautiful give-and-go as Borque raced to the puck on the boards and fed a perfect pass to Hintz in front of the goal for a 2-1 lead. Hintz continued to be the hottest goal scorer for a team struggling to score more than two or maybe three goals per game in December. Dallas kept the pressure up and was rewarded with a third goal. A slick move by Wyatt Johnston to self-pass off the boards, circle in behind net and feed a tape-to-tape pass to Jamie Benn in front of the net who beat Vejmelka between the legs for the first two goal lead of the game. With the 3-1 lead coming into the third, Dallas was determined to walk out with a win, but Utah found some extra energy to make a final push just like in the previous game in Salt Lake City. Another point shot turned into a goal after Barrett Hayton put a tip on it while battling with Miro Heiskanen in front of DeSmith, and Dallas was tasked with hanging on to a one goal lead for the rest of the period. The Stars did just that, as Utah came on strong and forced DeSmith to make a big save after pulling Vejmelka for the extra attacker. With the win, Dallas heads into the Christmas break with their 20th win fresh in their minds and a happy plane ride home to their families. Dallas will pick things up again on Friday when they take home ice against the rival Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/], who are ahead of the Stars in the standings. Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. 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