The Dallas Stars started the NHL playoffs without key players — top defenseman Miro Heiskanen and leading goal scorer Jason Robertson — but still managed to reach the Western Conference final for the third year in a row.
Both players came back during the second round. Heiskanen returned partway through the six-game series against Winnipeg after being out for over three months due to a left knee injury. Now, coach Pete DeBoer can get ready for a rematch against Edmonton in the West final, and for the first time in a long while, he has a nearly complete roster.
“Well, first time since January we’ve had any kind of version of our full lineup,” DeBoer said Monday. “You never want to go into a fight with one arm tied behind your back. Really, the first two rounds, that’s what we had, and to our group’s credit, they found a way to grind through those series. But it’s nice not to have to be in that type of situation.”
Dallas will host the opening game of the Western Conference Final on Wednesday night. Edmonton finished its second-round series last week with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 at Vegas.
The Stars had their second day off on Monday, a day that could have been Game 7 in Winnipeg if they hadn’t wrapped up that series with a 2-1 overtime win last Saturday.
“We just went through two of the best teams in the league, so we’re comfortable and we’re getting, I feel, healthier and more up to speed with the guys that we put back in,” DeBoer said.
Robertson, who was drafted the same year as Heiskanen in 2017 and is now 25, had a lower-body injury in the last game of the regular season and missed the first-round matchup against Colorado. After scoring 80 points (including 35 goals) in all 82 regular-season games for the third straight year, he only managed one assist, with eight shots on goal and 19 total shot attempts, in six games against Winnipeg.
Miro Heiskanen warms up before the game“He’s not a young, immature player anymore. He’s not looking for excuses or making excuses,” DeBoer said. “He’s looking in the mirror, looking for solutions. Been very coachable. So I see a world of maturity in him.”
Heiskanen needed surgery after taking a big hit from Vegas captain Mark Stone on January 28. He missed the final 32 regular-season games and the first 10 playoff games before returning in Game 4 against Winnipeg, when he had an assist in a 3-1 win.
“Listen, he took the proper amount of time. He wasn’t rushed back, he didn’t rush back,” DeBoer said. “It took him a few games to get his timing, but I’m not surprised he’s back where he’s at right now.”
In his first game back, Heiskanen played almost 15 minutes over 19 shifts. That increased to 18 and a half minutes and 22 shifts in Game 5, and more than 23 and a half minutes with 29 shifts in the final game of the series.
Heiskanen said he felt “pretty normal” after the series with Winnipeg and that he was getting more comfortable as he played more.
Dallas has used a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen since Heiskanen came back, but that could soon change to include 12 forwards again.
Either way, DeBoer said having Heiskanen back in the defensive group has made a big difference for the team.
“All of a sudden you’re slotting guys, you’re playing them less minutes, they’re more effective, they’re playing in better matchup situations,” DeBoer said. “Adding a guy like that back into your lineup slots everybody back properly.”
That includes Thomas Harley, who scored the series-winning overtime goal against the Jets. He played more minutes while Heiskanen was out, going from 22 and a half minutes to nearly 25 minutes per game, while having about the same number of shifts.
“We loaded this guy up, so I think he understands,” DeBoer said. “He’s a better, more effective player with a little bit less and he also understands of course the importance of Miro back there for us to win.”
