Well, Dallas Stars fans, your boys in green are one win away from their third straight Western Conference Final, thanks to a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night. Mikael Granlund scored three, Jake Oettinger made 31 saves, while the penalty kill was perfect and the power play was 2-for-4. It was as perfect of a home game as you could ask for, at least without a Finnish player scoring a hat trick. Oh, wait. Nevermind.
Related: Granlund’s Hat Trick Leads Stars to 3-1 Win Over Jets in Game 4
It’s now win or play 18 for the Jets, while if the Stars play on the road in Game 5 like they did in Game 1, they’ll win Round 2 and be one step closer to the Stanley Cup Final.
Different Finn Gets it Done in Game 4
I wrote an article on Tuesday morning about how the Stars need more players than just Mikko Rantanen to contribute if they want their winning ways to be sustainable. Having a different Finnish player, Mikael Granlund, score a hat trick instead isn’t quite what I had in mind, but it’ll do the trick, at least for Tuesday.
There were shades of Rantanen in Game 7 throughout Granlund’s performance in Game 4, especially on the first goal. At 8:36 of the first period, while on the power play, Granlund took the puck from his own blue line, into the offensive zone, and shot the puck past three defenders and Connor Hellebuyck. If you put it side by side with Rantanen’s first goal in the Game 7 comeback, which was also on the power play, it’s incredibly similar.
The second goal was on a 2-on-1 with Roope Hintz, and it looked for a moment like he was going to send it over to Hintz at the Jets’ blue line. Instead, he showed poise and confidence and snapped a beautiful shot under the crossbar and over Hellebuyck’s glove. Some in the Twitter-verse are saying that Hellebuyck should’ve had it, but that puck was so perfectly placed, I’m not sure that it matters.
The third tally was another power-play goal, this time a one-timer off a perfect pass from Miro Heiskanen. Again, it was a confident and powerful shot that made its way past Hellebuyck. Typically speaking, Granlund is a facilitator who passes before he shoots. On this night, it was a concerted effort on his part to shoot first, and it worked out perfectly.
Yes, Rantanen did get one assist on Tuesday night, but this time, it was a different Finn who took over the game.
Jake Oettinger Shines in Game 4
The Stars were the better team in Game 4, but it wasn’t by as big of a margin as one might think. The Jets played a very good road game, and there were many moments where the game could have turned into something different than it was. At the end, the Jets poured it on, as is expected, but throughout the game, Oettinger made some massive saves to give his teammates time to take it over, like they eventually did.
None perhaps bigger than a few minutes before Granlund’s final goal of the game. Kyle Connor broke up a play in his defensive zone and broke out for a breakaway shorthanded. At the left side of the crease, Connor quickly broke right, and Oettinger’s left pad met the puck for a quick kick-out save to keep the score 2-1. Shortly after, Granlund scored to double the Stars’ lead.
Oettinger has been a quiet storyline throughout the postseason for the Stars. In 11 games, he is 7-4 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average, both of which are top five among goalies who have played in six or more games. It seems like the Stars have been the better team in every game they have won, so Oettinger hasn’t necessarily stolen a game. However, he is as steady as it gets between the pipes, giving his team a chance to win each and every night.
“I didn’t mention Jake (Oettinger), he was probably our best player tonight. He was so solid, made a lot of really tough saves look easy. A breakaway save (on Kyle Connor), it was a turning point in the night. They score there, the momentum flips and who knows what happens down the stretch.” – Pete DeBoer
Miro Heiskanen’s Long-Awaited Return
After missing 42 games due to a knee surgery back in February, Miro Heiskanen, who some say is the best player on this team, came back to join his teammates in their quest for the Stanley Cup. Heiskanen played 19 shifts for 14:52 of ice time and had one hit in his return.
Ever since coach Pete DeBoer said Heiskanen would return in this series, the topic of who they would take out of the lineup has been hot and heavy in Dallas. Not wanting to take anyone out, the Stars played 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic played around seven minutes for the least amount of ice time among defensemen. Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell each played around 25 minutes, which was the most, putting Heiskanen basically right in the middle. It was the perfect way to ease him back into the swing of things, especially since the Stars are smack dab in the middle of a Cup run.
It’s hard to say how long they will deploy their back end like this, but hey, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Overall, the Stars played a really well-rounded defensive game, and since they are only one win away from moving on, there’s no need to rush him back to full-time minutes.
One Win Away
Statistically, it’s hard to recover from being down 3-1. That being said, out of all of the teams down 3-1 currently (Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, and Jets), the Jets are probably the most likely to come back. The issue here is, this team simply cannot win on the road. Through 11 games this postseason, the Jets are 5-1 at home and 0-5 on the road.
Coming into Tuesday night, all the Stars had to do was win their next two games at home. If the Jets find a way to win Game 5 at home, good for them. Game 4 is in the books, and if this series does go back to Dallas, the Stars are in a prime position to take care of business and eliminate the Jets. But why wait? The Stars will look to punch their ticket to the conference final on Thursday night at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
