Thursday Dallas Stars Roundup: Converting 3-1 to 4-1, International Anthems, Jake Oettinger's Workload, and the Texas Barbecue Experience

It's a game day, but also it's a long day until the game

First: A happy birthday to Wyatt Johnston, who turned 22 yesterday. (They grow up so fast.)

Do you remember when Leah Hextall presented Johnston with a monstrous facsimile of a birthday cake, lit candle included? It was last year at this time. I can’t embed the video (click if you like), but I can give you a screenshot:

I mean, what is going on there? That candle is surely stolen from someone’s great aunt’s pantry, and some staffer apparently propped it up with a combination of cellophane wrappers and a Reese’s cup, all on a black plastic bread-and-butter plate. How many seconds, do you think, was it before they started shooting this interview when some producer got the brilliant idea to force a poor intern to cobble this celebratory concoction together with whatever detritus was littered around the production booth? I don’t use the term “abomination” lightly, but that feels more like something you should absolutely let the fire consume and consign to eternity.

Second, you may also recall that the game immediately preceding that Fun Birthday Bit was a great one for Johnston, as he scored two goals (and assisted on Sam Steel’s empty-netter) to stake the Stars to a 3-1 lead in their second-round series last year.

That 3-1 series lead proved to be a nervy one in the end, as the Stars would drop Game 5 at home before needing double overtime back in Colorado to take Game 6, narrowly avoiding what would have been an exceedingly stressful Game 7 back in Dallas.

That is certainly the message in Winnipeg right now from Scott Arniel: Just win a game, and all the pressure starts to mount for Dallas. It’s easy to forget, but back in 2008, the Stars were up 3-0 on the Sharks before dropping two straight to make it 3-2. Then, in Game 6, they ended up needing four overtimes just to avoid a Game 7 back in San Jose. It ended up being a great memory for Dallas fans, but every playoff triumph features a disaster lurking around the corner.

Anyway, the Stars play the Winnipeg Jets tonight in Game 5. It will begin very late, starting at some point after 8:30 CDT. I hope you enjoyed the brief reprieve from late-night hockey during the two-step in Dallas.

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During those two games in Dallas, you may have noticed that, in Game 3, Pete DeBoer started with his fourth line. As a result of that choice, during the playing of the National Anthems, you could see Colin Blackwell standing on the blue line along with four other skaters.

The Stars tend to stand quite close to their bench while they’re on the blue line, rather than centering themselves between both walls as opposing teams tend to do (note the picture at the top of this story). But even all the way up in the press box, you could see that that Blackwell had his hand over his heart.