After narrowly beating the Calgary Flames on Tuesday and the Minnesota Wild in another one-goal margin affair on Thursday, the Dallas Stars prepare for their final home game of the regular season on Saturday against the New York Rangers.
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Despite basically printing playoff tickets in December, there has been no shortage of drama surrounding the Stars as the season winds down. Between a race for home ice, rookies emerging, and key players being nominated for awards, a lot is going on in Starsland as the postseason approaches.
Playoff Preview at the ACC
It was hard to know exactly what to expect heading into the Stars-Wild game. It’s been a well-known fact that the teams would be going head-to-head in the first round of the playoffs for quite some time now, with only home-ice advantage to be decided.
Were both teams going to play conservatively and keep their game plan close to the vest? Was it going to be a low-scoring, feel-each-other-out kind of game? Or would both teams leave it all on the ice and leave a physical impression of what to expect in a week’s time? It turned out to be the latter.
Both teams were throwing the body around, especially the Wild, and the two teams combined for 32 penalty minutes. Eight of those penalty minutes (four a side) came with 15 seconds left when all hell broke loose.
After Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring with his 44th goal less than five minutes into the game, the Wild rattled off three in a row, including two on the power play. The Stars came back to tie the game, only for Ryan Hartman to score another Wild power-play goal to go ahead 4-3 with 11 seconds left in the second period. Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson were clutch in the third, scoring the game-tying and go-ahead goals to give the Stars the 5-4 win and a four-point advantage in the pursuit of home ice.
On paper, this was already going to be a phenomenal series. After what we saw that night, it’s safe to say it is going to be straight chaos, no matter where Game 1 takes place.
Quotes From Thursday Night
If I had to choose one word to describe Thursday night’s contest, it would be emotional. You could feel it from puck drop right to the final buzzer.
“That’s probably exactly what you’re going to expect (in the playoffs). Guys finishing hits, taking hits to make plays and then as the game goes along, trying to make more plays, it kind of cools down. But that’s what it’s going to be like,” Robertson said after the game. “This was one of the more probably emotional games this season this late in the year. We’re going to play against them in about a week and a half. We’ll definitely learn from it and adjust and get ready.”
“It was a hard-fought game,” head coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They scored three power-play goals, so that gives them a lot of momentum throughout the game, especially spread out like that. It keeps giving them little booster shots. I thought our guys did a good job rallying back from that and rallying hard in the third to get the win. I thought it was a good character win, especially with all of the power-play goals they got.”
“It was one of those games where obviously a good character win when we’re able to come back like that,” Colin Blackwell, who cut the Wild lead to 3-2 in the second period, said. “We did a lot of good things, but we’ve got a lot to work on, too. Penalty kill, stuff like that.”
First NHL Goal for the 29-Year-Old Rookie
At 29 years of age, and in just his fourth NHL game, Cameron Hughes scored his first NHL goal to tie the game at 3-3 in the second period.
“That’s a long time coming. I’ve always dreamed of scoring my first goal,” Hughes said. “To score in a game that means something and it’s a big game just makes it even more special. That was a lot of fun. This is going to be a heck of a playoff series.”
Hughes has played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for nine seasons and was third in the league in points this season with 66 points, including 16 goals.
The Stars have a ton of injuries, so when they are healthy, it’s hard to know where Hughes’ spot in the roster will be. For now, it was a huge night in a huge spot.
Key Players Coming up Clutch
The Stars are a very deep team, and in the playoffs, they will need every member of the roster. However, when the chips are down, it’s the key players who will need to step up. If the last two games, not to mention the whole season, are any indication, they are more than ready.
Trailing 3-1 to the Flames in the third period on Tuesday, Johnston and Robertson stepped up to tie the game in the first five minutes of the period. Then, it was Johnston, again, who won the game in overtime.
On Thursday, again trailing in the third period, this time 4-3, Rantanen tied the game at 4:28. At 10:35, Robertson scored the game-winner to seal the victory.
In the playoffs, every team needs unsung heroes. But at the end of the day, it’s the star players who are going to get it done when it matters the most. Think back to Rantanen taking over Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round last year. This team continues to grow, but where these guys go, so go the Stars.
Injury Clarity Ahead of the Playoffs
The Stars have been battling injuries for what seems like forever, and Gulutzan gave some clarity to their situation on Friday.
Sam Steel is getting closer to playing and will likely play in one of the two road games to close out the season. Michael Bunting is a possibility for Saturday night’s game, while Tyler Myers re-aggravated a previous injury and will likely sit out. The Stars don’t expect Roope Hintz to be back in the regular season, and he is already doubtful for Game 1 next weekend.
Miro Heiskanen suffered an injury on Thursday and will be out for the rest of the regular season.
Benn and Oettinger Honored
This past week, captain Jamie Benn was honored as a nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. It is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
On Friday, Jake Oettinger was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player who shows leadership on and off the ice, along with humanitarian contributions to their community.
Up Next For the Dallas Stars
The Stars will wrap up their home schedule on Saturday against the Rangers. Then, they will finish up the season in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on Monday and in Buffalo against the Sabres on Wednesday.
