Tales From the Clipped: Dallas Wins an Old-Fashioned Shootout vs. St. Louis To Win Their Season Opener

Dallas looked bad until they looked great. Then they won.

If you introduced somebody who wasn’t a hockey fan and told them ahead of time that the Dallas Stars were the favorites of the West, they would have been laughing at your joke not even a minute in. However, this neophyte wouldn’t have been laughing towards the second half of the final stanza.

It’s worth noting that St. Louis is a serious team when their goaltender plays like a sane person. They have a very underrated top nine, and their blueline, while lacking in starpower is deep, and varied with their profiles. In other words, beating the Blues in a game that flexed a strong performance from Binnington is no joke. It was a good win highlighted further by Dallas looking pretty damn slick in overtime, which of course was a key deficiency last season.

I’ve talked about overtime before, so I won’t rehash any of that here. All in all, the game felt like Dallas shaking lots and lots of cobwebs until their legs finally kicked in. Game like this will inevitably happen, so hopefully it was a one-off. Speaking of which, let’s talk about it.

Dallas’ Weakness Were on Full Display in the First Period

If there’s one thing Dallas doesn’t have, and we’ve talked about it constantly, it’s a blueline that can facilitate plays up ice beyond Heiskanen and Harley (and another guy we’ll talk about). However, it’s not just about initiating attacks. Stopping them is the other half, and it was unfortunately evident through one.

Brayden Schenn isn’t exactly know for his blazing speed. This is the kind of play that Hakanpaa can’t allow. There’s a difference between getting beat because the guy in front was better, and getting beat because you made a bad read. The former is gonna happen. The latter shouldn’t happen. Beyond that, it’s further evidence that the pairing of and offensive with defensive guy is symmetry, not chemistry. That applies to Thomas Harley, who got too aggressive on this play and put Hakanpaa in an unenviable position. (I’m not blaming Harley per se; just that the miscommunication is further proof that symmetrical pairs aren’t efficient pairs by nature.)

Same thing with Lindell.

This feels a little unfair to single out Lindell for an inherent flaw to his game, but this is dramatic even for him. As the game gets faster, and the premium on playing through all three zones gets tighter, this is the kind of stuff that teams will punish: can’t catch the pass, and then can’t corral the puck despite minimal pressure. And then can’t pass to the open man. This is a picture perfect example of the “subtle” ways that players like Lindell mute Dallas’ offense. It’s hard for them to gain territory when Lindell actively concedes it from his own zone out.

Not to be outdone, Ryan Suter once again got lazy with the puck.

You know where I stand and you know how much I hate “nuance” in debates where they simply muddle the correct conclusion. It’s unfortunate this is the best Dallas can do for Heiskanen, and they did it by choice. But at least Suter is no longer on the second power play unit, and when Dallas needed a goal late in the game, it was the Harley-Heiskanen pair that showed up. Baby steps, people.

Wyatt Johnston and Jake Oettinger; Still Budding Superstars

Because ESPN+ sucks, the clip I wanted of Johnston kept freezing up. Still, you don’t need video to know that Johnston is smooth as silk. He looked good, and more importantly, he looked confident. He also looked a step faster too, which will pay dividends for reasons we’ll get into later.

The other player exuding confidence was Oettinger. While there’s no question about what he’s capable, it’s still good to see him responding to what I imagine was pressure from himself to be better.

Great stuff.

Despite being a low-scoring affair, the game was pretty chaotic. Even special teams proved to be an adventure at times. While there were other players who stood out, I’ll get to them in the stray observation section.

The Stars were getting put in a hurt locker in the second, so Oettinger standing tall in such a low-scoring affair was a big deal.

Miro Heiskanen; Still Elite, and Exorcising Overtime Demons

The third period saw Dallas settle into more of a rhythm. The Johnston line started to cook a little, and Sam Steel made some nice plays in limited icetime. I’m not gonna jump to any conclusions, but I think Heiskanen is good.

Sidebar: I had another clip of Heiskanen activating but first ESPN+ did me wrong, now Substack.

One of the things I mentioned in the Minnesota preseason game is that I felt like Heiskanen was looking “airy” - not necessarily lighter on his feet, but almost casual; but in a good way. Heiskanen needs no introduction, but it’s still worth noting any new wrinkles he adds to his game. While he’s no longer a baby-fresh rookie, he’s still young enough to add layers to his game, which is a scary thought for opponents.

Speaking of puck movers, Nils Lundkvist was absolutely jamming.

Skating and passing aren’t necessarily his strengths, but you can play past your flaws with a little confidence, and Lundkvist looked confident all game. He’s a unique player in that while he’s more of a classic puck mover, he’s not irresponsible in his own end (just lacking certain traits) and his shot is weapons grade. It’s unfortunate he didn’t score but plays like this are more sustainable than goals, so hopefully this is momentum he can keep riding.

Harley got some shifts with Heiskanen towards the end, and frankly, it’s just a relief following previous coaching staff who would have turtled to ensure themselves a point for the overtime circus.

I’ve never been all that interested in discussing overtime. 3-on-3 just isn’t the type of hockey that warrants the kind of deep dive that even strength or special teams does. Can it be the difference between making the playoffs and not? Sure. But any team relying on overtime to either inflate their point totals and lose their rank to them isn’t where teams are truly gauged.

Having said that, Dallas looked dominant. Johnston in open ice was especially dangerous. And the goal scorers looked like goal scorers during crunch time.

Stray Observations

• Jamie Benn looked phenomenal. He was dangerous on special teams at both ends, and in general looked like a dude that still owes his team an apology for Game 3 vs. Vegas.

• I thought Marchment looked really solid. He seemed to be creating chances on his own, and his physicality was played with controlling the puck in mind rather than recreating high speed collision. (Still one of the funniest scenes in a movie over the last 10 years in my overdramatic opinion.)

• Ty Dellandrea was another player who looked the right kinds of active. I love that his hardnosed style isn’t there for brutality’s sake. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits when Hintz is back.

• I was a little hard on Dadonov in my preview. Boy was I ever wrong. He was on a mission, and created a lot on the rush. That’s always been his MO, but surrounded by Dallas’ top nine leverages those strengths to greater effect than he had while in Ottawa and Vegas.

• Seguin on the top line didn’t stand out too much but I dug Seguin’s workmanlike ability during this game.

• Apologies for not getting you more clips. Substack is all F’ed out, and ESPN+ is not doing me any favors either.

• Paid subscribers, I’m still throwing you a bone tomorrow with a preview of the Texas Stars. I told you this place was bumping (kids don’t use this term anymore do they?).