5 takeaways: Stars deliver their best game of the series, force Game 7

DALLAS --Desperation is a great motivator.
Knowing they were facing a do-or-die scenario, the Stars did what they had to do. They came out of the gates flying, jumped out to a two-goal lead and were able to score a timely goal late in the second period to regain it after letting Calgary back into the fight.

The top line was reunited and firing on all cylinders. Miro Heiskanen delivered a highlight-reel goal. Michael Raffl asserted himself like he's done all series, and Jake Oettinger was outstanding once again.
Here are the five takeaways of the game.

HINTZ, TOP LINE STRIKES

Reunited midway through the first period, the trio of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski rekindled the unmistakable chemistry that's made them one of the best lines in hockey.
Taking advantage of Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington breaking his stick on an attempted dump-in, Robertson picked up the puck in the neutral zone and sauced it far side to Pavelski. With Hintz trailing him entering the zone, Pavelski dropped it and proceeded to crash the crease, which allowed Hintz to walk in and fire a shot on Jacob Markstrom from the bottom of the left dot. His shot went tweeners to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

OETTINGER KEEPS STARS AFLOAT IN FIRST PERIOD

Oettinger committed pure larceny throughout the first period to keep it scoreless and then preserve a 1-0 lead. On Thursday, he said everyone, including himself, had to lay it all on the line. He did that and then some in Game 6.
He was lights out in a frantic sequence in the front of the net when the Stars were scrambling. Then, at one point, he lost his stick while the play was still in the zone.
In all, he made 18 saves in the first period alone. After giving up two goals on nine shots in the middle frame, he stopped all 11 in the third to lock it down in a 36-save effort.

GLENDENING LEAVES WITH INJURY

The Stars had to play a forward short from the second period on when Luke Glendening left the game after taking a high hit from Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Glendening had eight shifts in 4:20 TOI and didn't return to the ice after the hit.
Even if he couldn't return to the action, Glendening wanted to be involved, so he took a seat on the bench with his teammates.
"He wanted to stay on the bench," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "He said 'Bones, I can't skate, but I want to stay here.' I said 'Luke, I'll get you a towel and you sit there as long as you want.' He's awesome. He's one tough, tough cookie and there's no way he was missing that third period whether he could play or not. You've got to love the guy. You talk about all-in, well, he's all-in every day."

STARS LET TWO-GOAL LEAD SLIP AWAY, BUT HEISKANEN STEPS UP

The Stars seized all momentum in the game after Raffl scored to make it 2-0 in the second period, but the Flames answered back with two of their own in just under four minutes.
Just when it seemed like the ice might be tilting in Calgary's favor, Heiskanen stepped up with a huge go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 late in the second period. It marked his first goal of these playoffs and was the kind of timely goal the Stars have been searching for throughout this series.
Heiskanen's taken his game to another level since the playoffs started. Bowness called him "dominant" in Game 6. He finished with one goal, three shots, two hits, two blocked shots and one takeaway in 20:16 TOI.

STARS DELIVER THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SERIES

Knowing there'd be no tomorrow if they lost, the Stars came out with tremendous jump. They used home ice to their advantage by harnessing the raucous energy from the sellout crowd of 18,532 at American Airlines Center.
And even when they bent in the second period as Calgary tied the game, the Stars simply regrouped and got back to work. They scored big goals - timely goals - and got big saves - timely saves - from Oettinger.
In a Game 7, anything is possible. We'll see if the Stars - facing another do-or-die scenario - can do it again.
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.