This time they managed to hang on.
Barely.
Despite a late third-period scare that saw the Colorado Avalanche get within a goal of erasing a four-goal deficit, the Dallas Stars preserved a 5-3 win Thursday night to tie the series 1-1.
They won the special teams battle, their goaltender was better, and the game’s star defenceman was someone other than Cale Makar.
Two nights after seeing a 3-0 first-period lead turn into a 4-3 overtime loss blamed largely on first-round fatigue, the Stars came up with an impressive response that saw them lead 4-0 heading into the third.
Some takeaways from a 5-3 Stars win that was very much in question until Esa Lindell found the empty net from 199 feet away:
STUD D-MAN STEPS UP
Often lauded as one of the top five blue liners in the game today, Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen scored a pair of power-play goals as part of his club’s stellar start.
The first saw him convert a brilliant cross from Roope Hintz he one-timed into the net.
The second was a seeing-eye shot from the point that caught a piece of Andrew Cogliano’s stick on the way in.
The 24-year-old Finn, who finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season, has quietly gone about sitting fifth all-time in points per game amongst NHL defencemen under age 25 at .71 PPG.
The four ahead of him: Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Makar and Sandis Ozolinsh.
BIG NIGHT FOR TOP CENTRE
If you had to wager on one man picking up four points in the game, you’d likely go with Nathan MacKinnon.
However, his six-game point streak actually came to an end, as did Mikko Rantanen’s, thanks to a steady diet of Chris Tanev all night.
It was, in fact, Roope Hintz who finally broke out offensively with a goal and three assists.
The Stars’ top-line centre had just a single goal to show for his previous eight games, demonstrating just how much depth Dallas counted on to get by the defending champion Golden Knights in Round 1.
Tyler Seguin also broke through with the eventual game-winner, which he scored shorthanded late in the second period to record his first goal of the postseason
“It added to the excitement on the bench,” said Jason Robertson.
“Those guys have been trying all playoffs to get one. Now I’m sure the momentum and confidence are going to keep going.”
HEAD SHOT CONTROVERSY?
A big moment of the game came when Jamie Benn caught Devon Toews with his head down behind the net, leveling the Avalanche defenceman with a high, heavy hit that prompted the defenceman to leave the game briefly.
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Originally whistled for a major penalty on the hit, a video review by the league reversed the call, suggesting the initial contact wasn’t to the head.
Avs coach Jared Bednar disagreed.
“Toews is fine. It’s a physical game, and it’s a physical player. I don’t know what to say. Does he catch a piece of his shoulder? Yes, I guess you could argue that, but the target is high and it’s at his head, and he makes contact with his head. I have seen many times guys get called for the headshot penalties with a lot less than that, but I guess they didn’t think so. This time of the year you have to play through some of that stuff. But, for me, it just makes me wonder, again, what the rule is. We will never probably figure it out, but it is what it is. You have to play through it, and I am glad he is OK. It’s a physical game this time of year, but I can’t understand how it’s not a penalty even if it isn’t a five (minute major).”
WHERE IT GOT AWAY
Bednar did well to explain how a 1-0 game got away from his club in the second period when the Stars scored three times on 15 shots and took over the game with a second power-play goal and a shorty.
“The second period, for me, is where it fell apart. Just not sharp. You can just go to the penalties alone, and it shows you’re not sharp. We had two too many men on the ice penalties and you get two over-the-glass penalties unforced, so it’s eight minutes of power play you are giving a really good power play team, and the rest of our execution and frustration keeps building from there. I did not like the second period at all. It just lasted too long. Too long of them dominating, too many odd-man rushes and gains. Just not disciplined and too stubborn with the puck, and it lacked the work needed to have success. Then, we turned around in the third and go to work, and that’s what happens.”
NHL RECORD IN SIGHT
With four minutes left, Valeri Nichushkin silenced the American Airlines Center by netting his ninth goal of this year’s playoffs.
Not only did it put the result in question, and tie him with Zach Hyman for the post-season lead, but it extended his playoff-opening goal streak to seven games, tying Pat LaFontaine (1992) for the longest playoff-opening goal streak in NHL lore.
The seven-game streak also ties him with Joe Sakic (1996) and
Claude Lemieux (1997) for the longest overall goal streak in franchise history.
Game 3 goes Saturday in Denver.
