Thomas Harley scores in OT to give Stars 3-2 win over Utah

DALLAS (AP) — Defenseman Thomas Harley scored on a rebound at 3:01 of overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Utah Hockey Club 3-2 on Saturday night.

Jamie Benn and Oskar Bäck also scored for the Stars, who have won four straight for the first time since opening the season with four wins. Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston each had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves.

Matias Maccelli scored twice and Karel Vejmelka stopped 26 shots as Utah lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2).

In overtime, Harley lifted the puck into the net after Vejmelka stopped a shot by Matt Duchene at the crease. It was Harley's 21st career goal — fourth in overtime — 155 games.

Maccelli tied it 1-1 just 1:14 after Benn put the Stars ahead 16 seconds into the second period. Bäck put the Stars ahead 2-1 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the second, and Maccelli tied it again 3:07 later with his second two-goal game and fifth goal of the season.

Maccelli scored for the first time since Nov. 7, going 23 games without a goal. Bäck scored for the first time since Nov. 14, going 22 games without a goal.

Utah: An 11-shot third period with the score tied kept them in the game.

Stars: The Stars are 23-2-1 in their past 26 games combined against Utah and its predecessors, the Arizona Coyotes.

Oettinger stretched for a glove save on Lawson Crouse about two minutes into overtime.

Dallas killed the game’s only penalty. The Stars have the best home penalty kill in the league and have allowed one power-play goal in 26 chances over the last 12 games.

Up Next

Stars play at the New York Rangers on Tuesday to open a five-game trip, and Utah hosts Florida on Wednesday to start a season-high seven-game homestand.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Utah Hockey Club center Alexander Kerfoot skates against the Dallas Stars during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley (55) skates against Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) clears the puck away as Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) challenges him during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) clears the puck away as Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) attacks during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley skates against the Dallas Stars during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A shot by Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli gets by Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) deflects the puck as Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) attacks during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars center Oskar Back front left, and right wing Arttu Hyry center, react after Back scored a goal against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. Hyry recorded his first career point while assisting Back on the goal. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) and defenseman Michael Kesselring (7) celebrate after left wing Matias Maccelli, not visible, scored his first of two second period goals during an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley (55) celebrates his game-winning goal with center Wyatt Johnston and center Matt Duchene as Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) skates away after during overtime of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Dallas. The Stars won 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A U.S.-Russian dual national imprisoned in Russia on treason charges was freed Thursday in exchange for a Russian man jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S., a prisoner swap that comes as Moscow and Washington have made efforts to repair ties.

Ksenia Karelina, also identified in the media as Ksenia Khavana, is “on a plane back home to the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on social media platform X. She was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. American authorities have called the case “absolutely ludicrous.”

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the country’s main security and counterespionage agency, said that dual Russian-German citizen Arthur Petrov was released as part of a swap. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the U.S. on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a year later.

Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine. Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the United States carried out in the last three years — and the second since President Donald Trump took office less than three months ago and reversed Washington's policy of isolating Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian and U.S. diplomats are sitting down Thursday for another round of talks in Istanbul on improving diplomatic ties.

In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug charges, in what the White House described as a diplomatic thaw that could advance peace negotiations. That same month, Russia released another American just days after arresting him on drug smuggling charges.

Karelina, a former ballet dancer, reportedly obtained U.S. citizenship after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, accused her of “proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organization that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a U.S. charity aiding Ukraine.

“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”

He thanked Trump and Trump administration envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case.

Karelina’s lawyer Mikhail Mushailov said she was flying to the U.S. after a prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The FSB said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Karelina before the swap. It said that Petrov, who was facing a 20-year prison term in the U.S., was exchanged for Karelina at the Abu Dhabi international airport with the UAE mediation.

The agency released a video that showed Karelina being escorted to a plane somewhere in Russia and featured of what appeared to be the scene of exchange at the Abu Dhabu airport. The same video showed Petrov undergoing medical checkups on a flight to Russia and saying he was feeling normal.

Petrov was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of involvement in a scheme to procure microelectronics subject to U.S. export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical electronic components for the country's weapons industries.

The exchange was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing a statement from CIA director John Ratcliffe, who it said was on hand for the swap at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

An email seeking comment was sent to the CIA in the early hours of Thursday.

Abu Dhabi was the scene of another high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, while the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai has become home to many Russians and Ukrainian who fled there after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.(AP Photo/File)