I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Lyubushkin. I think Petrovic seems like the clear choice being an AHLer but he’s earned his stripes this cup run. My vote would be Ilya.
Lyubushkin has been an underrated signing. We all thought he would be a spare but has really exceeded expectations. He's not coming out over a heavily sheltered career AHL'er playing 11 minutes per night. Bush plays 18 minutes per night and is a reliable part of our PK
I’m not discrediting Lyubushkin’s efforts or contribution, but splitting up the effectiveness of Bichsel/Petro at the moment when we could take a 3-1 lead against Win tonight doesn’t seem like the best choice IMO, thankfully, I don’t think either of us are making that call.
I'm with you. One guy is playing 11 minutes where he's been sheltered from d-zone starts and opponent's top lines. The other is playing 50% more minutes and often times against top lines and on the PK. Seems pretty straight forward to me.
I won't believe Heiskanen (not Hi-skanen) is playing until I see him standing on the blue line for the anthem. I need to hear his name from Jeff K's mouth.
I agree with this comment. But, based on these updates today, I feel REALLY confident we're seeing him very soon. I was always a bit skeptical until now.
This is also likely the best time remaining in the 24-25 season to bring him back in. We're up, dropping a game would be bad, but not horrific. We're at home, so we get last change, so can control who he's playing against.
I would be surprised if they go the 11/7 route. If Heiskanen is cleared by the medical and plays, he is 100% to go and not just 90%. The Stars wouldnt allow him to play if he is not 100%.
I think it's not a question of 100% vs 90%, but rather, we want to play him but jumping into a second round series with zero game action since January isn't an ideal situation, so let's manage his minutes and get him up to speed.
If all goes well, they go back to the 12/6 conventional alignment in game 5 and moving forward.
I think my point is/was a different one (sorry, English is not my mother tongue). Heiskanen, as we know, is elite. One of the best in the world. I dont think he needs time to get up to speed, but thats just my opinion. I definitely believe he wont see much action on the PP or PK though.
I think normally you would be correct. In this specific situation, the coach has repeatedly said they plan to keep his minutes lower than normal, so that is why I expect it to happen. But of course everything could change when the game starts!
Yep. If Miro looks like Miro and he says he feels great, he'll end up playing a bit more more than 6th or 7th defenseman minutes. Meanwhile, he hasn't yet played with the Moose, which is a bit like what Makar would be before he gets to play with MacKinnon.
I suspect that it has always been more a question of him getting medical clearance to play, not that he is going to be 100% when he does play. I could be wrong, but he wasn't at practice yesterday and I am guessing that he was instead visiting with the surgeon.
With Robertson back, they have already had to scratch one of those two. If they go 11/7, they'd have to scratch another forward as well. We'll see what they do.
You can only dress two of Dadonov-Steel-Blackwell-Back. Dadonov won't be coming out, for sure, so pick one of the other three, and the remaining two come out.
If Miro plays tonight, my theory that Miro got final medical clearance yesterday (his "maintenance day") is looking pretty good right now, if I say so myself. If he plays, I would probably go 11/7 for his first game back, but it might depend on how well the Moose slept last night. One of the wonderful things about Miro Heiskanen is that he can play either side equally well, so it should be easy to get him "easier" minutes as he works his way back. If it's 12/6, Petrovic is the obvious scratch. At some point, we need to talk about how quickly Lian Bichsel is progressing as a young NHL defenseman.
Where do the Stars find these guys? Wyatt Johnston, Lian Bichsel, Thomas Harley? One home run after another. Even a guy like Oskar Bäck is going to be a solid depth forward for the next 10 years. Jim Nill and his scouting department are seriously good at their jobs.
I mean, Petrovic is the obvious choice, but I'd be surprised if they didn't go 11/7, for at least one game.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Lyubushkin. I think Petrovic seems like the clear choice being an AHLer but he’s earned his stripes this cup run. My vote would be Ilya.
Lyubushkin has been an underrated signing. We all thought he would be a spare but has really exceeded expectations. He's not coming out over a heavily sheltered career AHL'er playing 11 minutes per night. Bush plays 18 minutes per night and is a reliable part of our PK
I’m not discrediting Lyubushkin’s efforts or contribution, but splitting up the effectiveness of Bichsel/Petro at the moment when we could take a 3-1 lead against Win tonight doesn’t seem like the best choice IMO, thankfully, I don’t think either of us are making that call.
I'm with you. One guy is playing 11 minutes where he's been sheltered from d-zone starts and opponent's top lines. The other is playing 50% more minutes and often times against top lines and on the PK. Seems pretty straight forward to me.
Also, Ilya is a beast on penalty kills. He's a steady, stay at home defensive defenseman. Very underrated signing last summer.
I won't believe Heiskanen (not Hi-skanen) is playing until I see him standing on the blue line for the anthem. I need to hear his name from Jeff K's mouth.
I agree with this comment. But, based on these updates today, I feel REALLY confident we're seeing him very soon. I was always a bit skeptical until now.
This is also likely the best time remaining in the 24-25 season to bring him back in. We're up, dropping a game would be bad, but not horrific. We're at home, so we get last change, so can control who he's playing against.
I would be surprised if they go the 11/7 route. If Heiskanen is cleared by the medical and plays, he is 100% to go and not just 90%. The Stars wouldnt allow him to play if he is not 100%.
I think it's not a question of 100% vs 90%, but rather, we want to play him but jumping into a second round series with zero game action since January isn't an ideal situation, so let's manage his minutes and get him up to speed.
If all goes well, they go back to the 12/6 conventional alignment in game 5 and moving forward.
I think my point is/was a different one (sorry, English is not my mother tongue). Heiskanen, as we know, is elite. One of the best in the world. I dont think he needs time to get up to speed, but thats just my opinion. I definitely believe he wont see much action on the PP or PK though.
I think normally you would be correct. In this specific situation, the coach has repeatedly said they plan to keep his minutes lower than normal, so that is why I expect it to happen. But of course everything could change when the game starts!
Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.....er, until the game is tied and you're corsi is in the low 40s.
Yep. If Miro looks like Miro and he says he feels great, he'll end up playing a bit more more than 6th or 7th defenseman minutes. Meanwhile, he hasn't yet played with the Moose, which is a bit like what Makar would be before he gets to play with MacKinnon.
Miro will get zero minutes on the PK, but I bet he gets PP2 time.
It won't take him long.
It isn't for sure that they'll go 11/7, but DeBoer not dismissing it when I asked him this morning was noteworthy. We'll see.
I suspect that it has always been more a question of him getting medical clearance to play, not that he is going to be 100% when he does play. I could be wrong, but he wasn't at practice yesterday and I am guessing that he was instead visiting with the surgeon.
Robert, If it's 11/7, why would both Back and Blackwell come out? It'd be just one, right? Or do you see someone else joining, like Bourque?
With Robertson back, they have already had to scratch one of those two. If they go 11/7, they'd have to scratch another forward as well. We'll see what they do.
Forgot that Oskar was already a scratch for Robo. Math works 😊
If it's 11/7, you're only playing 11 forwards:
Granlund-Hintz-Rantanen
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Robertson
You can only dress two of Dadonov-Steel-Blackwell-Back. Dadonov won't be coming out, for sure, so pick one of the other three, and the remaining two come out.
I mean. they've got 14 healthy forwards, but Bourque is #14 at this time.
Thanks
If Miro plays tonight, my theory that Miro got final medical clearance yesterday (his "maintenance day") is looking pretty good right now, if I say so myself. If he plays, I would probably go 11/7 for his first game back, but it might depend on how well the Moose slept last night. One of the wonderful things about Miro Heiskanen is that he can play either side equally well, so it should be easy to get him "easier" minutes as he works his way back. If it's 12/6, Petrovic is the obvious scratch. At some point, we need to talk about how quickly Lian Bichsel is progressing as a young NHL defenseman.
Bichsel is really having a great playoffs so far. It's remarkable when you step back, but then, he's a remarkable player.
It's also hard not to get excited about next season with:
Miro/Harley
Lundquist/Lindell
Bichel/Lybushkin
That's a pretty solid blue-line compared to the one missing two of the four best defenders like the Stars have had this post-season.
I like Petro over Lybushkin personally, but that's just off the eye test. I haven't really dug into their stats.
That said, I think Petro can be sent back to AHL w/out waivers, so he'll probably get sent back next season.
Where do the Stars find these guys? Wyatt Johnston, Lian Bichsel, Thomas Harley? One home run after another. Even a guy like Oskar Bäck is going to be a solid depth forward for the next 10 years. Jim Nill and his scouting department are seriously good at their jobs.