Game 79 AfterThoughts: Big Win, and Maybe a Big Loss
This game was every bit the playoff precursor we thought it might be
Song of the Game
Sometimes hockey doesn’t live up to its billing. You can set up Crosby vs. Ovechkin or put a game next to Lake Tahoe, but there’s never a guarantee that what happens inside the 60 minutes will deliver on the marketing.
Tonight delivered everything you could have wanted, albeit with an important asterisk that we’ll get to. The hatred was flowing between the benches, and the crowd was as loud as I’ve heard them all season. This game reminded me, viscerally, of last year’s series against Colorado. Nobody on the ice wanted to give an inch, and they fought (literally and metaphorically) for each one.
Special teams were huge, as expected. But some unexpected heroes had to step up on a big stage at even-strength, and that ended up being the story. A dramatic, one-goal victory was had by the home team, and I’d imagine the postgame talk in the dressing room involved a whole lot of Glen Gulutzan going around and pointing out the many, many people in green who came up aces on a night when so very much was going against them.
Colin Blackwell is right up at the top of that list, for my money. Moved back down to a fourth line with Cameron Hughes and Oskar Bäck, Blackwell had one of his best games all year. His line created two goals, and both of them were enormously important. He’s scored one or two of those before, you may recall.
First, Blackwell took matters into his own hand after the Wild had gone up 3-1 on a power play goal in the second period. Without Miro Heiskanen (yes, we’ll get to it), the game was beginning to get away from Dallas, and you could feel the energy starting to leave the building. But that’s what a fourth line is for, right? And energy is just what they brought, as great O-zone work led to a delayed penalty, and an Esa Lindell pinch along the boards ensured the puck was free for Blackwell to grab. Then, he wheeled up high before sending Team USA defenseman Brock Faber entirely the wrong way with a deke. Finally, he fired a puck through Filip Gustavsson to give Dallas life barely a minute after Kaprizov’s goal.
Nick Foligno’s bump after the goal only further inflamed passions, and the game was suddenly back in play at 3-2. When asked what happened with Foligno, Blackwell responded with a smile, albeit a stoic one. His answer would have no elaboration.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Blackwell said of the altercation. “It’s just playoff hockey.”
Second, Blackwell got a primary assist when Bäck made a great play in the neutral zone along the boards to get a puck into the zone and chase it down to create a 2-on-1 with Blackwell streaking down the other side. Bäck fed a saucer pass on his backhand to Blackwell, who once again went to work of the fancy kind, putting a puck off the post that slid off Filip Gustavsson and back out in momentary heartbreak.
But that might have been one of the best misses of Blackwell’s career, because it wound up kicking out to Cameron Hughes, who was in the perfect position to take advantage of the puck, hammering it through Gustavsson for his first career NHL goal.
Colin Blackwell was ecstatic, though he left the huddle quickly in order to retrieve the puck for Hughes, as teammates always do for such an occasion.
“I’ve always dreamed of scoring my first goal,” Hughes said afterwards. “I always told my dad I was gonna get him a puck, and scoring in a game that means something, in a big game, just makes it more special.”
Hughes’s story is just one of many places you could stop and marvel throughout the 60 minutes we watched tonight, but I think it’s worth giving credit to a player who was drafted in 2015—the same year as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Denis Gurianov—and who went five seasons after playing his second NHL game before getting into his third.
Hughes has been having an outstanding season in the AHL, but the nature of NHL rosters meant that a callup to the NHL was always going to be a long shot. So, does a 29-year-old eventually stop expecting to get back to the big league, and to get that puck he had promised to acquire?
Look at this Hockey DB page, and you’ll see a story, particularly between 2021 and 2025, where he played for three different AHL teams:
Despite that long layoff, Hughes said that he always stayed focused on that goal of his—which, in this case, also happened to be a literal goal.
“Obviously It’s been a long time since I had an NHL game,” Hughes said. “But I always kind of had a belief. I always said that, ‘Dad, I’m going to get you this puck.’ And it meant a lot to get it, and I can’t wait to see him. He’s gonna be so fired up, and I’m looking forward to that.”
This game had so much more than any single goal, but it’s worth pulling back a bit and thinking about how, in this case, one goal was a culmination of over a decade’s worth of dreams. How can you not shake your head and just be grateful that we get to witness moments like this?
And to have it happen in a brawl like this one just drives the point home: Cameron Hughes earned every bit of this one.
As for that asterisk: Glen Gulutzan said after the game that Miro Heiskanen will be evaluated tomorrow after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period of this game, which we believe happened on a hit from Ryan Hartman.
Gulutzan didn’t have much of an update on Thursday night.
"Just looking at it now, I wouldn't think he'll be a player on Saturday,” Gulutzan said. “But we won't know until we get him looked at."
Gulutzan stressed that he honestly didn’t have a guess about Heiskanen’s availability for the playoffs, though I would think Dallas will be extremely cautious with him if there’s even a chance he can go, given that they’re now four points up on Minnesota.
"We could get great news tomorrow, or we could get bad news,” Gulutzan said. “I'm not sure where we're gonna be."
Heiskanen was ambulatory after the injury, but that doesn’t mean much other than “It’s probably not as bad as the Mark Stone hit last year.” Whether he’s actually going to be able to play NHL hockey at anywhere close to his standards is something that only scans and medical diagnoses can tell, and we’ll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to get the results of those.
As for the hit itself, you can watch it below, but it’s pretty clear that Heiskanen’s leg bends backward in a way that is Not Good. I’m not a doctor, so I won’t speculate, but the upside is, he was walking afterward and even skating a little. The downside is, he was hurt enough not to return to the game, and probably won’t play Saturday either.
But if you want some consolation, how’s this: the Stars beat Colorado last year without Heiskanen or Jason Robertson. And tonight, they came back to beat Minnesota with five even-strength goals, and without Heiskanen for the final two periods.
That’s some kind of proof of concept, even if we’d prefer not to have to consider the concept again. Here’s hoping it all ends up being academic.
Blackwell and Hughes had a whale of night, but so did Jason Robertson, who scored what wound up being the game-winning goal, and celebrated with a finger point that could mean a lot of things, or nothing in particular.
But in this case, it was a punctuation mark, coming after a heavy and effective forecheck to win a puck back. It was a message, whether to himself or someone else, that he and his teammates weren’t going to feel sorry for themselves just because Minnesota has a dynamite power play and the Stars were missing Miro Heiskanen. There are still deeds to be done, and Robertson’s wicked shot accomplished an enormous one tonight.
He was far from alone, however. Esa Lindell set him up with a glorious fake shot and a pass, and Lindell was absolutely nails all night, especially after losing his defense partner. In fact, Lindell was on the ice for all five of Dallas’s goals. All of them! Sometimes plus/minus tells lies, but tonight ended with everyone full of truth serum.
Mikko Rantanen put his own exclamation mark on the night by drawing Quinn Hughes into the guts of the battle in the final minute, but his goal to tie things up wasn’t just luck, either. He angled his skate expertly on a Thomas Harley point shot, and the puck kicked off his skate and into the net—but wasn’t kicked by Rantanen, which was important.
Tonight was a night where you felt like this team was different. Sure, they would prefer not to give up three power play goals, but as Gulutzan said after the game, it’s about when you get kills as much as (or more than) the percentages, and the kill of Rantanen’s somewhat foolish penalty in the final 2:30 was as big as they come.
The Stars certainly have some special teams tape to watch, but in a game where power plays were 5-1 to Minnesota until the last 15 seconds of the night, I think they’ll take a regulation win of any kind. Home ice for Minnesota would now require Dallas to lose one of their next three games, and considering that one of those three is against the Maple Leafs, I think that dream is as close to dead as can be.
Jake Oettinger, by the way, came up with more than a few huge stops. Most of the goals that beat him were no-chancers, if you want my honest opinion, but a few of the saves he did make were game-savers. Tonight was a night where he couldn’t allow anything for free, and he very much did not. You can win a playoff series with goaltending like that.
Justin Hryckowian was his irrepressible self (and went 8-for-12 on faceoffs), while Adam Erne also drew the ire of Hughes on a player that likewise could’ve been officiated in a variety of ways other than the one that it was. The forwards had to find a way after making one tonight, but to the great credit of all twelve, they managed to do just that.
It was the blue line that really had to step up, though. Because of course, on the one night Dallas decided to stop rolling a lineup with seven defensemen, they would end up losing one.
As a result, all five of the remaining defensemen played over 20 minutes due to Heiskanen’s injury. Thomas Harley led the team in ice time with 25:17, and Lindell was right behind at 25:03. Lian Bichsel in particular stepped up in a big way tonight while also managing not to get drawn into more hijinx beyond those he started early in the game when sticking up for his goaltender.
Tyler Myers didn’t have his best night, but he did some crucial stickwork on the final penalty kill, and that’s no small thing. You wouldn’t necessarily choose to have Lyubushkin, Myers and Bichsell all in that 20+ neighborhood, but Dallas outscored Minnesota 5-1 at even-strength when all was sorted. This game was not a clean, repeated process by either side, but more of a chess-boxing match where the two sports aren’t alternated, but rather played simultaneously.
Harley ended the night by being sent to the showers after Boldy landed a few finishing moves from Mortal Kombat on him, so it’s safe to say everyone was in the thick of the battle tonight, and they had to be. Both the first and second periods ended with last-minute goals by Minnesota, so the Stars had to respond. But respond they did—and not on the power play.
“It’s setting the tone,” Blackwell said. “They’re a big, physical team, and we’re not gonna take any of it. I think we did a good job there.”
Highlights and the Lowdown
Jake Oettinger kicked off the game with a save on a Joel Eriksson Ek slapper from distance, and Dallas continued to take a few minutes settling into the game, as Minnesota put four pucks on Oettinger in four minutes.
The first puck the Stars put on Gustavsson would lead to the first goal, when a Rantanen bull rush led to a loose puck by the net that Wyatt Johnston found before anyone else, tucking it inside a vacant post with everyone expecting play to carry around the net to the other side.
Dallas’s breakouts got cleaned up in short order after the early forecheck by Minnesota was causing problems, and the chances started flowing. Colin Blackwell might have had a good shot at making it 2-0 himself, only to defer on a 2-on-1 to a trailing Oskar Bäck, who couldn’t get the puck through.
Adam Erne had a chance of his own after a floater from the point got knocked down at the crease, and Erne was quicker to find it, but Gustavsson got over to keep the puck out.
However, the Wild were bound to push back eventually, and it turns out that Quinn Hughes is still Quinn Hughes. A give-and-go play with a player of his caliber is always dangerous, and he ensured this one was especially so, ripping a shot off the far post before Heiskanen’s stick or Oettinger’s blocker could react in time.
It was, as they say, game on. A big Marcus Johansson hit on Mikko Rantanen further emphasized the playoff nature of the contest.
Joel Eriksson Ek had to go off, however, after taking a Heiskanen shoot-in that deflected off his stick and up into his face, sending him immediately off the ice (after a whistle) and down the tunnel.
Eriksson Ek would return for the second period sporting a full face shield. Danila Yurov would also leave the bench in the first period, though for reasons less clear, but he would come back quickly and resume play.
But Heiskanen would follow Eriksson Ek off the ice shortly afterward in a moment of great concern for Dallas, and he wouldn’t be as quick to return.
Ryan Hartman came in to finish a check, and his stick got behind Heiskanen as he was turning, while Hartman gave him a forearm to the chest from the front. That combination appeared to catch Heiskanen awkwardly, causing his right leg to bend a little awkwardly.
Heiskanen would finish his shift, but he wasn’t skating his best, and he would head down the tunnel quickly after leaving the ice.
Meanwhile, things deteriorated on the scoreboard, as Wyatt Johnston got whistled for a tripping penalty he had a lot of objections about, on account of getting an arm to the face by Matt Boldy.
From there, more misfortune followed, as a puck bounced over Esa Lindell’s stick on the penalty kill, and Matt Boldy easily sent it down to an open Kaprizov for one of the easier goals you’ll see.
It was 2-1, and things were bad. Perhaps that led to the scrum at the end of the period after Bourque, Bichsel and friends got into it with Minnesota, but nothing resulted, and the teams went back to lick their respective wounds.
Dallas looked a bit on tilt to start the second, but Bichsel wasn’t taking any guff from Nick Foligno after he got a bit too close to Oettinger after the whistle, and another scrum ensued, with Marcus Foligno coming in to deliver a punch on Bichsel in defense of his brother.
Four-on-four brought chaos, as a puck off the glass bounced off Gustavsson’s back and just past the post, after which Wyatt Johnston hit a crossbar after another slick move in tight.
But Colin Blackwell wouldn’t miss on a delayed penalty, making a gorgeous move at the point to beat his man, then firing a puck home—much to the displeasure of Nick Foligno, who took a penalty and kicked off another scrum with a cheap shot after the goal.
Dallas got a power play with Foligno getting an extra minor, but Wyatt Johnston would take them off it with an interference penalty, sending the game back to 4-on-4.
The Wild sent two pucks through the goalmouth that could’ve easily gone in, including a Kaprizov bid for a hat trick he ought to have finished. But Dallas escaped, and then the teams each got chances, with Bichsel breaking up a 2-on-1 rush at his own end, and Duchene nearly putting a spinaround backhand past Gustavsson at the other. It was intense, frenetic stuff.
More chaos followed with six minutes to go in the second period, as Eriksson Ek tested Oettinger with a one-timer after extended zone time for the Wild had Dallas scrambling a bit. But Oettinger got to the post in time to squeeze the puck, and Dallas was able to breathe for a moment.
That would be followed by a breathless moment for Cameron Hughes, as the fourth line created another goal off. The 29-year-old Cameron Hughes, in just his fourth career NHL game, got to the rebound for his first NHL goal after Blackwell hit the post on a nice move, all of which came from a slick cross by Bäck to set it all up.
Blackwell made sure to go get the puck for Hughes, too. The building exploded when the goal was announced, and Neil Graham gave him a big hug on the bench, as you would expect.
Tyler Myers took a penalty on a dangerous rush, however, and Minnesota would score their third power play goal of the game with 9 seconds left in the second period to go back ahead 4-3, thanks to Quinn Hughes, Jared Spurgeon, and Ryan Hartman, the latter of whom beat Lyubushkin to the net to easily tap the puck in.
With 20 minutes to go, the game had been absolute bedlam. At even-strength, it had actually been, well, even. But the power play, of course, had done crucial work for Minnesota.
Faber and Hughes led a 3-on-2 rush down the ice in the opening minute, forcing Oettinger to make a huge stop on Eriksson Ek after the pass got across, which he did.
Things only ramped up from there, but it would be Dallas who struck first, as Mikko Rantanen got a skate on a Thomas Harley shot to tie the game.
The officials reviewed the play to check for a kicking motion, but none was forthcoming, and the goal call stood.
Things would get even louder after Dallas sheltered under more Minnesota pressure, only for Jason Robertson and company to get to work and turn a puck over on the forecheck to send the building into ecstasy with a 5-4 lead, thanks to a great fake shot and pass from Lindell, and a smart delay by Robertson before shooting.
The intensity didn’t decrease after that, including an exchange where Erne tried to get past Quinn Hughes to chase down a puck in the Wild zone, only to have Hughes lock him up along the boards, with Zuccarello also colliding. Hughes ripped off Erne’s helmet, but it would be Hartman who eventually got a matching minor with Erne, when he grabbed him along the boards.
That led to 4-on-4, which Minnesota didn’t mind one bit. But Oettinger and company held serve, and we crept to five minutes left in the third period of a crazy, crazy game.
Unfortunately, Mikko Rantanen made it just a little bit crazier when he committed a slashing penalty along the boards on Jonas Brodin, with whom he had been sparring earlier in the shift down at the Minnesota net. But with 2:30 to go, Dallas had the biggest penalty kill of the night on their hands.
The first minute was efficiently killed, and then Minnesota had to take a D-zone draw after a high-stick on a shot at the empty net (which the Wild waited a good while before pulling the trigger on, for whatever reason).
With 33 seconds left in the penalty and 1:03 on the game clock, Hynes called his timeout, and both teams took a final breath. But despite winning the faceoff, Minnesota couldn’t get the puck to the net, and Arttu Hyry would win a puck up high to get a clearance.
Oettinger would make one more save through some traffic, but Dallas would again get to the puck first as Rantanen got out of the box and back into the play. And that’s where all the pent-up animosity that hadn’t yet made its way into the game finally broke through, as Quinn Hughes and Rantanen got into it with Rantanen trying to get by him to score into the empty net. In the end, Rantanen and Hughes went from wrestling to hugging, while Matt Boldy landed a couple of haymakers on a prone Thomas Harley.
The two teams will meet again next weekend, and one suspects the intensity will not decrease in the interim.
Lineups
Dallas iced a traditional 12/6 lineup tonight:
Hryckowian-Johnston-Rantanen
Robertson-Duchene-Bourque
Erne-Hyry-Benn
Hughes-Bäck-Blackwell
Lindell-Heiskanen
Harley-Myers
Bichsel-Lyubushkin
Oettinger in goal
Minnesota went this route:
Kaprizov-Hartman-Zuccarello
Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Boldy
Trenin-Yurov-Tarasenko
M. Foligno-McCarron-N. Foligno
Hughes-Faber
Brodin-Spurgeon
Middleton-Petry
Gustavsson
After-AfterThoughts
Arttu Hyry began the game as the third-line center, and he wound up taking critical faceoffs in the final minute, shorthanded. What a rise he’s had in a short amount of time, and what a game he played tonight.
Big ups to equipment assistant Andrew Stegehuis for working his 1,000th game tonight for Dallas.
If it’s any consolation, the leg Mark Stone hit last year was Heiskanen’s left, whereas the one that bent oddly tonight was his right. I realized this is not much consolation.
Once more, take a look at Colin Blackwell just completely losing Brock Faber here before his goal. Really pretty stuff, in contrast to what followed right after the goal.
I can’t stress enough how cool a moment for Cameron Hughes this goal is, scoring his first NHL goal at 29 years old. We talked about his journey a bit last week, in case you missed it.
Through 40 minutes, Quinn Hughes had played over 20 of them. By the end of regulation, he’d logged 31:51. He averages an NHL-leading 27:30 or so per night, so it wasn’t that much more than his usual workload, but still. What a dude.
Finally, a very good picture:
That game winning shot by Robo might be the best shot on goal that I have seen this season. If you haven’t seen the replay, check it out. You will be amazed at how he got that shot to the net in the tiniest of open spaces.
Let’s hope that Miro is okay. I really don’t know this team keeps winning with all the injuries to key players.
Lot of thugs on the Wild. What was Boldy thinking when he pummeled Harley?? Loved our response though. This team is definitely not last year's.