DALLAS -- Rostislav Olesz beat Dallas goalie Alex Auld with a backhanded flip shot in the third period, so when his name was called in the shootout, Olesz didn't think twice about making that move again.

``When Coach [Pete DeBoer] told me I was going second, I knew what I was going to do as I sat on the bench,'' he said with a smile. ``I knew it went in.''

Olesz's goal in the shootout was the difference as Florida beat the Stars 6-5 at AmericanAirlines Center. The goal by Olesz helped make the night memorable for Steve Reinprecht, whose first-period hat trick got the Panthers off to a great start. Olesz's goal clipped the goal cage and circled through. It was initially waved off, but the replay showed it was a good goal and it was allowed.

``It was a gritty win,'' said Reinprecht, who scored his three goals in a span of only 5:11 and has eight goals in the past six games. ``We blew some leads, but we stayed with it and [goalie Scott] Clemmensen shut the door when we needed it. It was a big win for us.''

The win snapped Florida's four-game losing streak and was the team's first win on the road this season. The Panthers are now 2-1 in shootouts this season, beating Chicago in the opener and losing at Pittsburgh last Friday.

The five regulation goals were the most scored by the Panthers (3-7-1) in a single game this season. Florida held leads throughout the night, most notably at 3-0, 4-2 and 5-4. But the Stars kept coming back and tied the score at 5 just a minute after Olesz scored early in the third to give Florida its final lead of the night.

``It was a wild one. The fans got their money worth,'' DeBoer said. ``It was wide-open hockey out there. I don't want to talk for [Dallas coach] Marc Crawford, but it looked like neither team practiced all year. It was just back-and-forth. Way too loose for my liking. But for how things have been going for us, those were a big two points. Had we walked out of here with nothing, it would have been hard to swallow.''

Reinprecht's three goals in the first 15:49 of the game marked the fastest hat trick in franchise history and was the fifth of his career.

He also became the 14th Florida player to accomplish the feat. David Booth recorded two hat tricks last season.

NEEDED OFFENSE

The Panthers sure need the offense Reinprecht has brought. Reinprecht started his surge on Oct. 16, scoring the final goal of Florida's 4-2 win over Philadelphia with an empty-net goal. He then scored once in a loss to Buffalo, twice against Pittsburgh and once in Wednesday's loss to Ottawa.

Friday, Reinprecht helped the Panthers take a 4-2 lead when he led the rush on a second-period power play and found Jordan Leopold with a sweet pass in front of the net. The goal was Leopold's first as a member of the Panthers and was Florida's second this season from a defenseman. Bryan McCabe got the Florida blue line's first on Wednesday.

STARS RALLY

Up 4-2 after Leopold scored, the Stars scored two unanswered goals to tie the score going into the third period. Florida was outshot 25-16 in the first two periods as Clemmensen made just his third start of the season. Auld, who came to the Panthers in the infamous Roberto Luongo trade in 2006, started for the Stars.

The Panthers led 5-4 early in the third period when Olesz grabbed a loose puck, raced past former teammate Karlis Skrastins and beat Auld top shelf. But Clemmensen surrendered another goal just a minute later when Fabian Brunnstrom whipped a shot from the left circle that squeezed past Clemmensen's blocker.

Clemmensen stopped all three shots faced in the shootout.

``We still have a long way to go,'' DeBoer said. ``But this was a big start for us.''

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