The Dallas Stars had the start they wanted in Dallas. Mavrik Bourque opened the scoring late in the first when his centering pass glanced in off a defender, and Mikko Rantanen ripped a power-play shot from the right circle off a Jason Robertson feed to make it 2-0.

The building had juice, the pace suited Dallas, and Vancouver looked like a road team chasing.

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The whole thing flipped in 3 minutes and 26 seconds. Filip Chytil slipped behind coverage off an Evander Kane stretch pass and beat Casey DeSmith to ignite the push. Brock Boeser tied it on a power play with a deft tip of a Quinn Hughes shot. Max Sasson then walked in on a short breakaway for 3-2, and Dallas never fully recovered.

Conor Garland stole a pass in front of his own net and went the other way to backhand home 4-2 late in the second, a gut punch that turned the night uphill.

Wyatt Johnston gave the Stars a late spark with a power play one timer from Tyler Seguin to cut it to 4-3 with 2:08 left. The final push ran into Thatcher Demko, who finished with 28 saves and clamped down in the third.

Quinn Hughes sealed it with an empty-netter off a Garland pass for the 5-3 final. DeSmith stopped 21, but the story was the stretch of broken details in front of him when the game tilted.

This one will sting because the path to two points was there. Dallas had a multi-goal lead, special teams traded blows one for one, and the top end produced early. The difference came in puck management and gap control during the second-period avalanche. One mistake can be absorbed. Three in a row becomes a problem, and the Stars let the snowball roll.

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The positives are still real. Bourque keeps flashing NHL finish. Rantanen’s heater continues with a fourth straight game on the scoresheet and career goal 296. Johnston is up to four on the season, and the power play still bites when it gets touches.

Clean up the middle frame habits, close the neutral zone, and this is a win more often than not.

Up next is St. Louis on Saturday, a Central Division test that should demand a heavier, simpler approach with clean exits and short shifts through the neutral zone.