Recap: Hintz' hat trick and Holtby's heroics lead Stars to 4-1 win

DALLAS -- The path of destruction Roope Hintz has left in his wake has officially become nightmare fodder for the opposition. Teams are trying to stop him and they're failing. They can't even contain him at this point.
The 25-year-old has been on an absolute tear since he scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 10 vs. Nashville, and Carolina was his latest victim on Tuesday.

Hintz recorded his first career hat trick with goals in all three periods to lift the Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes in front of 17,345 at American Airlines Center.
It gave the Stars their fifth consecutive victory, which currently stands as the longest active win streak in the NHL. Not only that, but it also gave Dallas wins in seven of its past eight and six in a row at home. The Stars have outscored the opposition 25-8 over that stretch of home games. The Stars improved to 11-7-2 this season.
Hintz opened the scoring just 73 seconds into the game - a beautiful chip shot off his own rebound that gently sailed over Hurricanes goaltender Freddie Andersen's shoulder.

Hintz became the 34th player in NHL history and the first since Jamie Benn (April 5-6, 2014) to score in the opening 75 seconds in consecutive games. Only one player in NHL history did so in three straight contests: Johnny Gagnon (three games from Jan. 24-Feb. 1, 1931 with Montreal).
The goal also placed the Stars in rare company, as they became just the 13th team in NHL history to score in the opening 75 seconds of a game in three or more consecutive contests and the 10th in the past 40 years.

Oh, but the high-flying Finn wasn't done. With 5:03 remaining in the second period, Hintz was sprung on a breakaway and went top shelf again on Andersen to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. It gave him goals in six of his past seven home games and 12 points (nine goals, three assists) over that span.

Assisting on Hintz' first two goals was Joe Pavelski, who, at 37 years and 142 days, became the first player to record multiple points in three consecutive games at age 37 or older since Martin St. Louis in 2013-14 (three games from Oct. 10-15, 2013 with Tampa Bay).
The ageless wonder gave the Stars some insurance with a goal midway through the third period for his seventh point in his past three games.

Hintz completed the hat trick with 2:50 remaining in regulation that followed with a steady stream of caps from the stands.

While it was Hintz and Pavelski who provided the scoring, Braden Holtby delivered the kind of goaltending that's been his trademark for years. The veteran netminder made his second consecutive start, which also happened to be his 500th career NHL appearance and turned aside 39-of-40 including three incredible stops in rapid fashion in the final minute of the game.

Holtby became the 10th active goalie to appear in 500 career contests and surpassed Jacques Plante (292-119-88 in 500 games played) for the most wins by a goaltender in NHL history through his 500th game. (Holtby had a record of 292-137-50 in 499 games).
Don't miss your chance to see the Stars continue their homestand on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.