Miro Heiskanen’s injury leads to disaster in Stars’ Game 3 blowout loss to Kraken
SEATTLE — Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, who broke Sergei Zubov’s Stars scoring record for defensemen this season, is the kind of player that can raise eyebrows at both ends of the ice. But when you really notice him is when he isn’t anywhere to be found.
That’s when you know he’s great. And the Stars are in big trouble.
Heiskanen took a puck to the face early in the second period of a scoreless game Sunday night, and with the Stars’ best D-man down on the ice, Seattle’s Jordan Eberle shot the puck past Jake Oettinger for the first goal of the night. It was also the first of FIVE the Kraken would unleash in the second period of a 7-2 Seattle victory Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena.
“We got what we deserved tonight,’’ Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “Personally, I was probably one of our worst players. They were the hungrier team tonight.’’
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When Heiskanen disappeared from the game, so did the rest of Dallas’ defense. It was appalling to see the chances Seattle suddenly created, the easy passes tic-tac-toeing their way through the Stars’ zone to create open looks. Incredibly, this was the second period in three games in which Seattle has scored four or more goals against Oettinger.
After giving up five in the second period, he was replaced by backup Scott Wedgewood for the third period. Coach Pete DeBoer said a change earlier had been considered but did not feel right.
“It’s not like we were playing great, and Jake was letting in goals,’’ DeBoer said. “I thought our whole group was off tonight. What didn’t give me cause for concern? We didn’t stop the bleeding. We gave up all kinds of opportunities. We should be able to handle adversity better than that.’’
The only good news is that DeBoer seemed to suggest that Heiskanen would return for Game 4 Tuesday. The defenseman suffered “a pretty bad cut” DeBoer said, but there was discussion that if the game had been closer he might have returned in the third period.
Instead, this one got completely out of hand in the second.
It was after the Stars’ Game 2 victory Thursday that evened this series that Oettinger was lamenting his rough first period from Game 1 when he allowed Seattle to grab a 4-2 lead. Oettinger acknowledged he would probably give up another four-goal period some day. I doubt he was thinking about Game 3 when he said it.
The Kraken had the advantage in shots (9-4) and scoring chances in the opening period, but neither team could get on the scoreboard. The tone of the game was inexorably altered when Heiskanen was helped off the ice and down the tunnel by a team trainer. Not only is the former No. 4 overall pick Dallas’ best defenseman by a wide margin, he leads the NHL in minutes per game in the playoffs (averaging more than 29 entering Game 3). Without him, the Stars were scrambling and failing miserably to cover for him.
And Oettinger, normally the most reliable last line of defense for the club, didn’t do the team any favors. A man with a .940 career saves percentage entering the game somehow allowed five goals on eight shots in the second period.
Seattle scored four times in the first 8:22 of the second period. After Eberle opened the gates at the 2:10 mark, Alex Wennberg scored at 3:36 after a great outlet pass from Seattle’s best D-man, Vince Dunn, started the play. Carson Soucy, a defenseman not known for scoring goals, managed to find himself all alone on the left side of the crease with the Stars caught completely out of position to score at 6:30. To continue the celebration, Calder Trophy candidate Matty Beniers scored unassisted on Oettinger at the 8:22 mark.
In case Mason Marchment’s one-timer at 12:40 of the second was going to ignite the visitors, Seattle doused those flames in the final minute of the period. Once again the Stars looked hopelessly out of position as Eeli Tolvanen skated in from the right side and fired a shot past Oettinger with 39 seconds to go.
The Stars take some satisfaction from the fact they were in a similar position in the first round. They trailed Minnesota 2-1 after three games and were playing without their remarkable center, Joe Pavelski. Now the Stars trail Seattle 2-1 after losing Heiskanen at least for most of Game 3.
On the other hand, the Kraken hasn’t actually been in this position. Seattle trailed Colorado 2-1 before winning three of the final four games including the last two played in Denver.
The Kraken came at the Avs with a variety of scorers, rather than one powerful line, and this is no different. Where 15 Seattle players scored goals in the seven-game first round, the club already has goals from 10 players three games into the second round.
The wild Western Conference remains wide open in these playoffs. The feeling that the Stars have a handle on things took a bad spill Sunday night when Heiskanen went down for far, far too long.
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
