Stars rally in Cotton Bowl to beat Preds at Winter Classic

Dallas Stars interim coach Rick Bowness had just seen a very similar comeback by his team, though the surroundings for this one were drastically different.

While pigs raced during timeouts next to the outdoor rink, which was built in the middle of a historic football stadium and framed to appear as if it was under an oversized ranch entry, the Stars scored four goals in a span of just under eight minutes in a 4-2 win Wednesday over the Nashville Predators in Dallas at an NHL Winter Classic that felt like a state fair.

Well, it was played at the site of the annual State Fair of Texas, with the rides and games on the midway open just outside Cotton Bowl Stadium known for hosting big football games.

“Let’s look at it from two sets of eyes. From a coaching perspective, we won the game.

Dallas celebrates its 4-2 victory over Nashville during Wednesday’s Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl.

We battled back. We survived those early penalties and the guys kept battling and believing and doing what was necessary to get us back in the game,” Bowness said.

“From a fan’s perspective, that was great hockey,” he said. “If I was out there watching that game and I was watching us on television, that was an awesome game. The whole thing was awesome.”

Alexander Radulov scored the tiebreaking goal on a one-timer with just under 15 minutes left and Andrej Sekera quickly added another goal for the Stars, who were down 2-0 after an extended Nashville power play in the opening minutes when Dallas forward Corey Perry got a game misconduct and was ejected for an elbow to the head of defenseman Ryan Ellis.

Nashville has lost three in a row, and is 11th in the West after making the playoffs last season.