DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars keep responding in these NHL playoffs, like they have all season.
Now they go into Game 4 at home with a chance for a 3-1 series lead against the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
“It's the best response team that I’ve coached in my time here, coming off, not necessarily a poor effort, but a loss or maybe we’re not as good as we could be, (and) rectifying that quickly,” third-year Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “There’s an honesty to the group and the leadership in the group. They’re willing to accept hard coaching. You don’t have to sugarcoat it with them, which is nice."
Dallas has had to change the way it plays defensively since Miro Heiskanen injured his left knee Jan. 28, and the standout defenseman still hasn't played since. The Stars also were without top goal scorer Jason Robertson in the first round against Colorado, when they lost another Game 1 before back-to-back overtime playoff wins despite leading only a total of 62 seconds in regulation. They have two 4-0 losses this postseason, and rebounded from both with big wins, the latest 5-2 in Game 3 against Winnipeg on Sunday after being shut out by Connor Hellebuyck two nights earlier.
In the only NHL game Tuesday night, Winnipeg now must respond to even the series and regain home-ice advantage.
“For sure. It’s important. We need to get one on the road here," Jets forward Kyle Connor said. “That next one is the best chance we’ve got.”
Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Series: Stars lead 2-1.
DeBoer said Monday that he still believes Heiskanen will play at some point in the series against the Jets. The defenseman had a scheduled day off during what was an optional practice.
The Stars got goals from defensemen Alexander Petrovic and Thomas Harley in Game 3 against the Jets. Petrovic, who has played twice as many postseason games as he did regular-season games, was credited with the go-ahead tally in the third period. A puck shot by Mikko Rantanen deflected off Hellebuyck and then the defenseman’s skate back toward the net and went in for a 3-2 lead.
Right after that disputed goal, Rantanen almost immediately scored yet another goal for the Stars.
“We had, whatever it was, a two-, three-minute situation where they scored a couple of goals, but at the end of the day, hopefully some of the stuff we did, the offense we created, the chances that we had, help us feel good about what we can do in Game 4,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “And that’s what we’re going to have to do. ... We have to find ways to score more goals than them. We had looks.”
Rantanen is having no problems scoring, with an NHL-high 18 points (nine goals and nine assists) and setting all kinds of records. He is the first player with 18 points in the first 10 games of the playoffs since a pair of Hall of Famers did that in 1989 — Wayne Gretzky for the Los Angeles Kings and Mario Lemieux for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After the primary assist on the go-ahead goal Sunday, Rantanen has factored into each of the last five game-winning goals for the Stars since overtime in Game 3 of the first round against Colorado, his former team. The previous franchise record was four in a row by Joe Nieuwendyk during their 1999 run to their only Stanley Cup title.
Rantanen had a goal and two assists to become the first player in NHL history with five three-point games through his first 10 games of a postseason. All of his have come in the last six games — twice against the Jets.
“He’s a tough guy. Like a lot of their skill players, it takes a lot to sort of shut those guys down,” Arniel said. "That’s all part of this. If we’re going to have success, not just him but we have to take away all their offense. ... We just have to make sure we continue to do a job on him and the rest of their top players.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
