The Dallas Stars entered this season as a Stanley Cup contender, but some injuries put their championship hopes in question.
Now, the Stars are virtually back at full strength, and that should terrify the Winnipeg Jets and the rest of the NHL teams still in the playoffs.
If there were any reason to believe Dallas wasn’t going to go far in the playoffs, it was injuries to key members Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson. The two veterans missed the first round of the playoffs as the Stars took on the Colorado Avalanche.
Dallas still found a way to win in seven games and move on to its second-round showdown against the Jets. After their Game 3 victory over Winnipeg, the Stars lead the series 2-1.
The Stars’ incredible depth allowed them to ease Robertson and Heiskanen back into the lineup without any pressure on them to do the heavy lifting.
Robertson returned to action in Game 1 against Winnipeg. He finally got on the scoreboard in Tuesday night’s Game 4, and it’s just a matter of time for him to produce points more often.
That said, the bigger impact will be Heiskanen returning to the lineup. The blueliner came off long-term injured reserve and played Game 4.
To say Heiskanen will have a positive impact on the Stars’ playoff hopes would be a gigantic understatement. We’re talking about one of the NHL’s top-five D-men who can play upwards of 25 minutes per game with few, if any, errors.
The ripple effect and calming influence of Heiskanen’s return should make Dallas the favorite to win it all – at least in our view.
What’s truly amazing about the Stars is they’re already super strong before mentioning their top players up to this point in the playoffs: goalie Jake Oettinger and right winger Mikko Rantanen.
Oettinger had a .911 SP and 2.71 GAA heading into Game 4 – numbers more than sufficient to allow Dallas’ offense to put up enough goals to win games.
Rantanen is far and away the best acquisition at the NHL trade deadline, and the Stars couldn’t be more pleased.
Rantanen leads all playoff players in points, with nine goals and 18 points in only 10 games. In the race to decide the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Rantanen has to be considered the favorite. He came into this post-season with a championship pedigree, and his sense of urgency and determination set the tone for his Stars teammates.
As for Heiskanen and Robertson, the two longtime Stars are looking for their first career Cup win, and there may be no better opportunity to win one than now.
The Stars need all hands on deck if they’re going to beat the Jets and square off against either the Edmonton Oilers or Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final. They now have nearly all their players back, except for Nils Lundkvist, who’s out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Still, the Stars have the talent and depth at every position to go far and win their second Cup in franchise history.
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