Game 56 AfterThoughts: On Groundhog Day, Thomas Harley Beat Jets in Overtime, Again
And a very happy Groundhog Day to all who observe
SotG
You can look
And you will find me
Time after time
Glen Gulutzan said it well after the game.
“The game is just slower for some of those guys, and he’s one of them.”
That quote is, of course, about Mikko Rantanen, who scored one of his prettier goals since moving to Dallas to give his team a late third-period lead. It was one of those goals, the sort that turn the entire game into a different experience, because 18,000 people all suddenly have a new definition of what is possible in the NHL.
Unsurprisingly, Rantanen started out answering a question about that highlight-reel goal after the game by crediting the rookie forward whose move up to the top line has coincided with a lot of the Stars’ success on their current five-game winning streak.
“Good play by [Justin] Hryckowian in the zone to hit it out of mid-air,” Rantanen said. “And I tried to fake the shot to maybe get the d-man to bite and he did, and then tried to beat him inside. I kind of lost it a little bit, so I had to make a deke, and happy to see it go in and help the team.”
And yet, Rantanen’s goal wouldn’t end up being the game-winner, because the universe has a cruel sense of humor when it comes to the Stars and the Jets playing in Dallas, and the Jets would tie the game up late on a fortunate (or unfortunate, if you’re Dallas) deflection off the same Rantanen’s stick off a shot by Logan Stanley. Fortune’s wheel turns, always.
Just ask Connor Hellebuyck about that wheel. The goaltender endured his latest crushing loss against the Stars after the last one came with Mark Scheifele in the penalty box when the Stars eliminated Winnipeg from the playoffs last May in Game 6.
This one came right after Scheifele had a breakaway with the game on his stick, but Hellebuyck’s USA goaltending compatriot Jake Oettinger came up with the save of the game, and that gave Dallas a chance to win it themselves shortly afterward. It was also the latest crushing blow to Scheifele, who has endured more than most in this rink.
But once again, Thomas Harley sent the Jets off the ice amid delirious joy in Dallas. Oh, and that would be the same Harley who will be reprising his role on Team Canada next week, while Scheifele was not brought back to that team as things stand right now.
Like we said, it can be a cruel game.
Harley scored his game-winner off a pass from a recently resurgent Matt Duchene in overtime, and the defenseman beat the USA goaltender that he and his own countrymen had previously defeated at the Four Nations Faceoff almost exactly a year ago, a few months before he and his Stars teammates would defeat Hellebuyck again in Dallas, come playoff time.
And on Harley’s goal, he also started off in the typical hockey manner of crediting a teammate.
“[Duchene] pulled up, two guys went with him,” Harley said. “Kind of filled the open space, he sent a nice pass, picked it up, looked it up, held up with a poke check, kind of moving back in and trying to elevate.”
Harley would indeed elevate the puck, and the mood. He’s pretty good at doing that, especially against the Jets. You probably wouldn’t blame Hellebuyck if he asked to work remotely for the teams’ next meeting in Dallas, given how the last year has gone.
Still, despite all the overtime drama, it was that Rantanen goal that will live in hearts and minds for a while, because superstars tend to be able to do that. The American Airlines Center crowd was chanting “MOOOOSE” for long stretches tonight for the first time in a while, and it was a good reminder of just how easy it is for superstars to win hearts and minds, and voices.
“It’s hard to win in this league without star players and that’s what he is,” Gulutzan said. “It’s patience. Right into traffic. A lot of guys probably would have shot it earlier. He just holds on.”
Holding on and walking off have both been themes of the Stars/Jets rivalry. And if tonight was any indication, that isn’t going to change any time soon.
After some forays at both ends to start the game, Radek Faksa took what looked like an avoidable tripping penalty to put Winnipeg on the game’s first power play a fair bit away from the puck. Dallas survived a couple of scary one-timers, however, and things resumed at five-a-side.
Mikko Rantanen scared Hellebuyck after that, grabbing a carelessly played puck and finding Duchene on the weak side for a shot that Hellebuyck had to come up with, and he just managed to do so.
The crowd got into things when Adam Erne laid the third of his three hits in the first 10 minutes of the game, sending Jonathan Toews’s stick flying in a collision that probably looked worse than it was:
That got the Stars a bit more into the game, and Roope Hintz cut between the defense to reach forward and slap a puck on Hellebuyck as the pressure kept mounting. But once again, Winnipeg drew a penalty as play moved up the ice, as Miro Heiskanen was tagged for hooking with 5:39 to play.
The Jets’ second power play generated some more dangerous looks than the first, but a great Oettinger pad save (which he may not have known much about) and some key blocks got them through it once again.
Morgan Barron nearly capitalized at even-strength after turning the corner on Kyle Capobianco, but Petrovic came over to help the increase, and a sprawled Oettinger never actually had to make a save as the puck slid through the blue and out the other wise.
Dallas’s first power play came with 20 seconds to go in the first, when Toews got cited for hooking Adam Erne during some Dallas pressure from the fourth line. Despite a decent flurry, the teams went to their respective room with the tie score intact.
The Jets wouldn’t be so lucky to start the second, however. Mikko Rantanen was given time and space to run the power play from the half-wall, and he would find Robertson with a hard pass that Robertson banked past Hellebuyck to make it 1-0 on the power play:
That lead wouldn’t last long, however. After a Lindell pinch along the wall, the Stars failed to adequately cover up for him, and a collision between Erne and Faksa caused issues only exacerbated by a puck that hit the linesperson’s skate along the boards, which set up a 3-on-1 rush for Winnipeg that Heiskanen would actually get a piece of (and so would Oettinger), only for Gabriel Vilardi to deposit the rebound to tie things back up:
If that was “bad,” then the next sequence was the “worse.” Mikko Rantanen took another tripping penalty with his skate catching Gustav Nyquist’s skate in the neutral zone, and the Jets finally scored on their third power play when Cole Perfetti got to the good part of the ice and didn’t miss his chance to give Winnipeg the lead:
After that goal, the game seemed to change entirely. The neutral zone opened up, and the Stars leaned on the gas with a vengeance. Hryckowian had a breakaway denied by Hellebuyck’s glove, and multiple other Dallas passing sequences probably could have used a shot before the final pass. Still, the cumulative pressure led to an interference penalty by Luke Schenn as he cleaned Jamie Benn out in front of the net, and the Stars had a chance to equalize with their best players on the ice.
That chance was increased after Morgan Barron took a tripping penalty early in the 5-on-4, giving Dallas over a minute of 5-on-3 time.
In theory, that’s a good thing. But in practice, it was calamity, as the Stars failed to put a single shot on Hellebuyck during not only the entire 5-on-3 set, but nearly all of the remaining time on Barron’s second penalty as well. Johnston had a stil fail him on a one-timer, and Rantanen missed a gaping corner of the net from distance himself. When all was said and done, it felt like a very big missed chance for Dallas. Probably because it was.
But when your power play isn’t getting it done, you look to the depth guys to come up big. And Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn, and Nils Lundkvist combined to do just such a thing with a nice play in transition:
The Steel cross-ice pass to Benn didn’t get him a point, but it’s a big part of the goal too, I’d say. Overall, the goal came after a big disappointment of a power play chance, and it felt like a huge momentum swing in the Stars’ favor as the second period ended in another tie, despite four goals being scored.
A cagey start to the third period immediately led to more open ice, and multiple good chances for Dallas would lead to another Toews penalty, giving the Stars a chance to redeem their earlier power play scuffling.
This set was much more dangerous, and Roope Hintz looked to have a tap-in at the back post, only for the pace of the shot/pass to elude him by a whisker. The second half of the power play failed to test Hellebuyck, and Toews and company nearly capitalized on the rush after he exited the box, reminding Dallas that momentum can be a slippery beast, indeed.
Another near-miss by Winnipeg six minutes into the third and a post by Morrissey two minutes after that only reinforced that reminder, and as the period hit its midway point, Dallas started to look like a team hanging on for overtime more than one pushing for the win, and that’s never a good sign.
What is a good sign is the number 96, which means Mikko Rantanen is on the ice. Because when a superstar is on the ice, he can do things many players cannot do, such as score this unbelievable goal:
I mean, the poetry is there to be seen, so I’m reluctant to add too many words here. This is the sort of play that makes you wonder how on earth Colorado didn’t win five Stanley Cups with Rantanen and MacKinnon on the same team for so many years. Just unbelievable stuff from an unbelievable player.
If you’d like to hear the goal as broadcasted by a very impressed TSN crew, you can find that here. But probably, you’re going to want to hear the Josh and Razor call, which is here. Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head and watch it again. (This play probably did not increase Luke Schenn’s trade value, either.)
After some chances at both ends, Winnipeg called a timeout with 2:26 to go, planning some sort of hijinx in pursuit of the tying goal. Kyle Connor hit the crossbar on a good scare from the circle, but Logan Stanley would find the net by wisely aiming for the hottest stick on the ice: Mikko Rantanen’s. Thus, the puck would deflect in for a deflating tying goal.
So, once again, Dallas and Winnipeg would go to overtime in Dallas. And once again, Mark Scheifele looked like he could be the hero, as he got a breakaway from the red line in, only to have Jake Oettinger come up with a kick save that wouldn’t have looked out of place decades ago:
If you didn’t hear it, the crowd exploded after that Oettinger save, perhaps as loudly or even more so than they did after the Rantanen goal. Overtime hockey at its best, right there.
After the Stars collected themselves, Matt Duchene took a puck from Heiskanen along the boards as the defenseman changed for Harley, and Duchene’s stickhandling and deception drew two players away from the middle of the ice, which the fresh Harley seized upon, hitting the blue line in a beeline for the net.
And this new Duchene found the onrushing defenseman with a delicate saucer pass through Winnipeg sticks, and Harley calmly reached back with his skate to kick the puck up to his blade in-stride, the way so many players at the NHL level can do so easily. From there, it was just a matter of a deke and a backhand, which Harley’s skill took care of.
And that’s how Harley scored his second overtime winner on Connor Hellebuyck.
Lineups
Dallas began with a familiar group:
Hryckowian-Johnston-Rantanen
Robertson-Hintz-Bourque
Steel-Duchene-Benn
Bäck-Faksa-Erne
Lindell-Heiskanen
Harley-Lundkvist
Capobianco-Petrovic
Oettinger
Winnipeg brought this noise:
Connor-Scheifele-Nyquist
Perfetti-Lowry-Vilardi
Niederreiter-Toews-Namestnikov
Koepke-Barron-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Salomonsson
Stanley-Schenn
Hellebuyck
After-AfterThoughts
The Stars made a trade of defensemen this afternoon for AHL players: RHD Gavin White was sent to the Flames in exchange for LHD Jeremie Poirier. The players are making similar money (White makes a tiny bit less in the minors, by about $18K), and both are ‘02 birthdays who become restricted free agents this summer.
Poirier put up 42 points in 71 games last year for the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL last season, and his four years of experience in the AHL (compared to three for White) might be good things for the Texas blue line right now, with first-year pro Tristan Bertucci being asked to do a lot of heavy offensive lifting for Texas.
One other thought: With Luke Krys (who shoots right) now healthy, and with Vladislav Kolyachonok (who shoots left but can play either side) back in Texas, I think a RHD like White was less critical to have around than he might have been at other times. Still, Tommy Bergsland is the only other right-shot defenseman (besides Kyrs) now on the Texas roster, if you’re tracking such things.
Glen Gulutzan was pretty frank when asked about the possibility of Lyubushkin or Lian Bichsel playing in the Stars’ final game before the break on Wednesday. Gulutzan said Lyubushkin probably could go, if he had to, but it sounds like they’d prefer not to rush him back.
Likewise, the Stars have almost zero reason to rush Bichsel back if there’s any lingering risk to his foot. Most of the Stars will return for a sort of mini-camp a week before they resume NHL play later in February, so there will be time to build players up. We’ll see how that goes.
One other thing that I’ve wondered is whether the Stars would prefer to send a defenseman (presumably Kyle Capobianco) down to the AHL, should everyone be healthy, in order to help Texas out during the Olympic break. So even if the Stars don’t want to activate Bichsel (which would necessitate clearing a roster spot), it’s possible we could still see such a move, depending on which way the organization is leaning. Little decisions, but not meaningless ones.
Mikko Rantanen’s passing is sublime. That’s the word I’m sticking with until someone decides on a better one. This feed to Hryckowian in particular is worth watching:
How pumped was Nils Lundkvist after his game-tying goal? This pumped:
That goal by Nils Lundkvist came shortly after the Stars’ blew a long 5-on-3 chance, but Gulutzan added that it was no more than Lundkvist has deserved for his recent uptick in play.
”He’s been really trending [up],” Gulutzan said. “Look at his Vegas game, and I thought it was real strong. And then tonight, I thought it was real strong. So it’s good for him to get rewarded. He’s had some good plays, and I thought he’s been good here.”
Brien Rea and Brent Severyn were back in American Airlines Center for Stars Aligned tonight, which was a fun sight to see:
Victory+ Jamie Benn has five points in his last three games, and 19 points in 34 games now. He’s finding ways to keep scoring on that third line for Dallas, and that really does seem like a better fit for him than the fourth line.
Have the Stars solved all their depth problems up front? Hardly. But if they do add a forward, it will only be a good thing that they have some players who can contribute at evens down the lineup. You just can’t survive in a long playoff run without points from your bottom six at some point, and the Stars have been getting them lately.
It seems like it happened almost in another game, but that Rantanen pass to Robertson for the Stars’ first goal was efficient, deadly stuff. Simple threats like those are what keep other passing lanes open. There is no safe part of the ice against this power play—unless they go up by two skaters, apparently.
With ten minutes to go, Dallas had out-attempted Winnipeg pretty handily at even-strength, as this shot chart shows. But the grey shapes are missed shots, and Dallas also handily out-missed Winnipeg, which made Hellebuyck’s night easier than it probably ought to have been:
HockeyViz.com Connor Hellebuyck’s protestations after Harley’s goal were due to the fact that the Heiskanen shot just before the Scheifele breakaway popped a strap loose on his mask:
Scott Arniel said Hellebuyck had, indeed, voiced his distress, but to no avail.
“Yeah, his mask - when he got hit with a shot there - his mask was undone,” Arniel said. “And he was hollering and screaming while the play was going up the, you know, and then that was it.”
I’d imagine Hellebuyck’s protestations died down during Scheifele’s breakaway right after this clip, only to ramp back up again when Dallas got the puck and came down the other way. I’d say he has a legitimate gripe, but I don’t expect most Stars fans or playerswill feel too sympathetic to his cause. And even Scott Arniel acknowledged that really, the Jets had the game on their sticks.
”I know they scored that goal,” Arniel said, “But we found a way to get ourselves back at the end, having a chance to try to get two points. And at the end of the day you really hope to find a way to finish those off. We had Scheif on a breakaway. Maybe that was the look we were hoping for.”
And that’s how one team’s cruel disappointment gets turned, alchemy-like, into another team’s joy.
My vote is Keep Brian and Brent at the AAC! That looks like a real pro show now… free them from the “closet”!!!
They should always be there. Mavs people are during Mavs games.