(2024 Playoffs, Round 1) Game 7 Stray Observations: Dallas Eliminates Vegas, moves onto Round 2

Colorado. Let's f&@king go.

Cool. Now you ready for another round?

I want to give credit to Vegas. “Boooooo!!!” I know. But let’s face it. Beating the piss out of LA would have done zero to prepare them for Colorado. Vegas pushed them to the brink, at the height of their powers, and Dallas still won…

For Dallas, it’s on to the second round. I’ll have more to say about the Avalanche. We’ll do another ‘into the weeds’ like we did with Vegas.

But for now, there’s a lot to say about what a lot of players accomplished. We’ll get to the specific individuals in the strays, but it’s hard not to view this series win as anything other than a smashing success. Various individuals were less visible than others, and sure, others were far more visible, but against an elite team, you simply can’t expect everyone to show out. Not only was Vegas an elite team, they were a stylistic nightmare, and have been for years.

The journey is anything but over. It’s quite possible a better team awaits the Stars. But for now, Dallas just put the rest of the league on notice: there’s a better team than last year’s Cup winner eyeing the prize.

Wyatt Johnston…you know the rest

I’ve been high on Johnston’s game for awhile. In my summer film room analysis, these were closing thoughts.

Oh I think Johnston could very easily have the year Dylan Cozens had after first full year (going from 38 to 68 points). Again, think back to those sequences: a potential offside that becomes a shot in the crease; a neutral zone dump-in that turns into a behind-the-net scoring chance; a 50/50 battle at the blueline that switches to a shot from the top of the circles, etc. A player’s shooting percentage may wax and wane, but not their wits. Johnston has plenty of that. So whether or he has a huge year, or a modest year, I don’t care. He’s destined for more, regardless. It’ll just be a question of when.

But no, I did not envision this much of a glowup to this degree. More than just one of Dallas’ best forwards, he’s one of hockey’s best young forwards. I asked Dimitri Filipovic on the PDOcast if he would take Johnston number one overall in a 2021 re-draft. Dimitri may not be a draft nerd, but he knows hockey, and while he was somewhat noncommittal, it’s telling that the only player that came to mind was Owen Power. Johnston being a top three talent in a re-draft* is the kind of absurd work that wins teams Cups.

Thomas Harley’s defense

I was always high on Harley’s defense; mainly because I thought, looking at the video, that he needed some work, but foundationally — leveraged his aggression effectively to kill plays rather than absorb attacks (which he was still prone to). To me, it was always a matter of Harley finding the right balance. Instead he simply became something of a stay-at-home specialist this series. It started out shaky, but as the series wore on, he settled into what felt like the defensive half of the Heiskanen pairing, which is hilarious when you think about it.

This is why I was draft-nerd-upset when Corey Pronman said absolutely nothing about Harley in his 2019 draft retrospective. (I still think he does yeoman’s work so please don’t take this opportunity to strafe the guy.)

Faksa???

I was lowkey disappointed that Ty Dellandrea came out for Faksa. I’ve been adamant about Dellandrea getting more playing time, even if it’s a tough choice, but I can never shake Faksa’s contract, or his offense (not just the outcome-offense) to favor him over Dellandrea, who looked good in his absence. I quite like pie, so I’m happy to eat a humble slice of it. Yes, it was a complete lucksack, but so was Dellandrea’s. Truth is, I’m not backing down from that opinion, but I will say that Faksa can stay if the only thing he ever does for the rest of his career is score random goals in sporadic Game 7s.

Tanev’s importance

Let’s just leave this tweet from Dimitric Filipovic here:

Chris Tanev played 144:12 at 5v5 in Round 1. About 93 of those minutes came against the Golden Knights top two lines. The Dallas Stars won those minutes 5-0

That Nils Lundkvist play

Fine. Let’s do it.

I didn’t dig on the social media reaction, and all the “see why DeBoer doesn’t trust him” etc. Does one play define a player? For Lundkvist, it certainly will in DeBoer’s eyes. Probably Nill too. And probably a lot of fans; even the ones who have supported him. Me?

Here’s my take. If the margin of error was that close to Dallas losing the series — Lundkvist getting beat — then why not speak on the margins of precision? Is there something to be said for Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene, who needed to be much more present to make this series a little less close? How does this series look if Joe Pavelski is taken off that top line sooner? How does this series look if Dallas was able to win at least one of their home games to begin the series? If Pete DeBoer didn’t trust Lundkvist, but put him out there anyway, what does that say about DeBoer? (Or Nill, for that matter, not upgrading the third pairing position when it was patently obvious that DeBoer doesn’t trust him.)

Beyond that, there’s this. Jani Hakanpaa will come in when he’s healthy. Do the two profiles below look like difference makers? (Hell I’m not even sure Hakanpaa doesn’t get beat the same way.)

So yea. It was a terrible read from Lundkvist, but it also would have been silly to lay the blame on his shoulders if Dallas lost.

Some irony

I found it funny that the forward who botched the pass that Johnston intercepted for the opening goal was the guy Vegas used the LTIR money on: Tomas Hertl. Just saying.

The Vegas perspective

As always, Vegas’ work is done as frantically in the offices as it is on the ice.

One change you can expect is Vegas reconfiguring their middle six. Stone, Stephenson, Hertl, Karlsson, and Barbashev were all without an even-strength goal. Hilariously, it was their bottom line forwards that seemed to do the most damage. If I’m Vegas, I’m doing anything in my power to make Nicolas Roy the second-line center. He’s such a skilled player along the walls, it almost feels like a complete waste of his talents to stick him next to Carrier and Kolesar.

Vegas will have $1.6 million to work with, with their only RFA being Pavel Dorofeyev. Don’t be surprised to see them shed some cap to bring up defensemen Kaedan Korczak (who looked good in his brief stint), and while they’re light on prospects, Brendan Brisson and David Edstrom (just kidding: they traded him in the San Jose deal for Hertl) have decent potential.

We tend to wonder how long they can keep this up, and honestly? It’ll be longer than you think. They have a way of getting out of tough situations, and while some of their players are older (Pietrangelo in particular I thought had a horrible series; super lazy with the puck, and his temper cost them), they’re gonna be more or less the same team next year that they were this year post-deadline.

*

I still ponder this one, keeping my Stars bias in check. Simon Edvinsson and Luke Hughes are just getting started, and they look elite. Owen Power may be on a bad-ish team, but he’s already elite. As much as Stars fans give the guy grief, I’d expect Matty Beniers to have a monster season (yes, a lot of his lack of production was lack of luck). Kent Johnson and Mason McTavish will have solid careers.

But if the Toronto Maple Leaf drama teaches us anything, it’s that greatness is about your brilliance in both seasons — not just one. Johnston may have an unfair edge, but look at what he’s doing: 31 scoring chances to lead the team, point per game, led the team in points, and led the team in goals. If my number one center can give me big-game production when it matters most, then you better believe that factors into my decision.

Does that mean I’m picking Johnston? Yes. But there’s still plenty of time for the young defenders in particular to make their own case; especially once those teams become good.