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Sam’s Story: Heiskanen, Stars Power Play Are Back

The Stars welcomed back both Miro Heiskanen and the success of their power play in a 5-2 victory over the LA Kings on Tuesday.

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The Stars had gone four games without scoring a power-play goal. With the return of Miro Heiskanen from injury, that slump came to an end in a 5-2 victory on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings. 

Stars power play is back. 

Dallas ripped home three power-play goals in the game, all of them coming in the first two periods. First, Roope Hintz took a pass from behind the net from Jamie Benn and went top shelf on Cal Petersen. Then, Jason Robertson hammered home a one-timer top shelf on Petersen. 

Sensing a theme here? Dallas scored four of their five goals over the glove hand of the 6-foot-1 Petersen. 

Their final power-play tally came in true Joe Pavelski fashion, in front of the net after Dallas battled hard to win a puck along the boards. The Stars went 3 for 4 in the game with the extra man. 

“It’s hard work,” Miro Heiskanen said about the key to the power play. “We won the rebounds. Hard work and puck movement, that’s kind of it.”

Miro Heiskanen not only helped the power play, but he also looked very good in his return. In 19:15 of ice time, he recorded two assists and a plus-2 rating. 

“He’s so good,” Roope Hintz said of Heiskanen’s impact on the power play. “Their forward bites that he is going to shoot and then he moves the puck. It’s easier for the flanks to go down and see that we have more time there.” 

Dallas really flipped the game around when they scored three goals in 1:30 of game time in the second period. It was nearly identical to what the New York Rangers did to them on Saturday. But this time, it was a lot more fun. 

The top line is not messing around. 

If you haven’t already noticed, the Dallas top line of Hintz, Robertson, and Pavelski was on a different level throughout the game. They recorded seven points and continued to be the best line in hockey. At 5-on-5 this season, the trio has outscored opponents 9-1. That is elite. 

Add that to the fact that every line had multiple scoring chances, and you have a recipe for success. 

“That’s what we want to be, we want to be a four-line team,” Stars Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. “We want to come at you in waves. We need four lines to be able to play with the kind of pace we want to play with. When you are out in front, it’s easier to do that obviously. But we earned the lead we got, and that allowed us to get everyone out there.” 

Plenty of key contributors. 

Scott Wedgewood stopped 30 of 32 shots in his third start of the season. It was his first victory in 2022-23, moving his record to 1-2-1. 

Tyler Seguin scored his third goal of the season and Denis Gurianov picked up his first point, with an assist on the play. 

Overall, the Stars got back to what made them successful early in the season. They played fast, dictated, and forced a lot of mistakes from LA. On top of that, they pounced on those mistakes and made the Kings pay. That’s how you win hockey games at this level. 

Sam’s Three Stars

  • First Star: Roope Hintz, DAL (2 goals, 1 assist)
  • Second Star: Jason Robertson, DAL (1 goal, 2 assists) 
  • Third Star: Jamie Benn, DAL (2 assists, 6 shots) 

He Said It 

“His impact on the game is huge,” DeBoer said of Heiskanen. “He gets us out of our end quicker, cleaner. He makes so many plays. He’s one of the best in the world for a reason. When he is out of the lineup, you’re a different team.”

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