Dallas Stars Show Confidence, Resilience In Game One Win vs. Predators

The Dallas Stars entered into Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night and picked up a big 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. They were the better team for much of the game and found a way to start their first round series on a remarkably high note. That’s incredibly impressive.

There could have been panic. There could have been nerves. There was also plenty of room to potentially self-destruct under the pressure. But none of that affected the Dallas Stars.

Instead, they went into Bridgestone Arena and won their first playoff game in nearly three years. They knocked off the Nashville Predators 3-2 and secured the first win of their opening round series against the Central division champions.

And before we go into the game, let’s put this fact out there: this could very well be a series-altering win.

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As the puck dropped on game one, there was really no telling how things might pan out. Media, analysts, and fans seemed to be evenly split when trying to determine which team had the upper hand in the series. There seemed to be just as much reason to believe that the Predators would trounce the Stars using experience and their home atmosphere as there was to believe that the Stars would use their game plan to their advantage and suffocate the Predators.

And through 20 minutes of action, only one thing was certain: this series was going to be a fun one to follow.

The opening frame had all of the expected elements and then some. Nashville came out on a fast note and took the pace to a Dallas defense that looked shaky. Ben Bishop had to be really good early on, and he was.

“Let’s not forget how good [Ben] Bishop was,” said Stars coach Jim Montgomery following the game. “I mean, that first period, they controlled every part of the game except for that one power play we had. Bishop kept us in it. It could have been 4-0.”

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As the Stars settled in and began to look more composed, the Predators continued pushing. There were some heavy hits, like when Brian Boyle leveled Jason Dickinson in the Dallas zone. Dickinson stayed on the ice for a good minute or two before getting up and heading to the locker room to go through concussion protocol. He eventually passed and returned to the game, but the hit was a booming one that quickly reignited the hatred between the two clubs that had been missing since their last meeting on Feb. 19.

Roman Josi scored on a beautiful backhand shot with 7:48 left in the period to give Nashville the advantage. Both teams went 0/1 on the power play in the opening frame, though the Stars had some really good looks generated by their second unit (Roope Hintz, Justin Dowling, Radek Faksa, Esa Lindell, and Miro Heiskanen) that included a Hintz deflection off of the crossbar and a Dowling shot that just missed the post.

The Stars entered the first intermission in a 1-0 hole, but there was no reason to believe that they were out of the contest. They had been behind in plenty of first intermissions during the regular season and had often found a way to rally using a strong second period push. And though there were shaky parts of the first period, the Stars looked to be moving in the right direction as the frame ended. It wasn’t a great start, but it could have been a lot worse. That’s where the nerves and panic could have settled in.

But it didn’t. As the puck dropped on period two, the Dallas Stars took over. They were faster, more aggressive, and more possessive. They set the pace and tempo and forced the Predators to try and play catch up. John Klingberg looked unusually physical and even began heckling and roughing up Viktor Arvidsson after the forward hit the ice. Klingberg ended up going to the box on a roughing call, but the Stars killed the penalty. A few minutes later, Jamie Benn drew a holding call and sent the Stars to their second power play of the game.

That’s when the Miro Heiskanen Show started back up. After building hype for himself through a strong rookie regular season campaign, Heiskanen looked like a weathered veteran while playing in his first-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs game. Almost 20 minutes after Josi opened the scoring, Heiskanen scored a power play goal on a shot from the point to tie things at 1-1.

"“I mean, just like I’ve said all year, we’re glad we have him.” – Jim Montgomery on Miro Heiskanen"

The Stars held the Predators to just five shots in the middle frame while taking 10 of their own, tied the game up, and set the stage for all sorts of hype going into the third period. Again, there was a perfect opportunity for the Dallas Stars to crumble under the pressure or get complacent with a tie game.

But they didn’t. Dallas came out swinging yet again in the final frame, keeping the Predators on their heels. What looked like a second goal for Heiskanen with 13:50 to go in the period ended up being credited to Alexander Radulov on a deflection to give the Stars their first lead of the game. They didn’t stop there, either.

Jamie Benn put together a shift of pure dominance, successfully possessing the puck behind the Nashville net while being hounded by multiple Predators skaters while the Dallas offense set up in the zone. Upon getting set, Benn kicked the puck out to the blue line for Ben Lovejoy, who ripped a slap shot on net. The shot took a heavy bounce off of the pads of Pekka Rinne and trickled into the slot, where Mats Zuccarello was waiting to cash in on the rebound. The Stars secured a 3-1 lead with less than 10 minutes to go and looked to be in full control in front of a quiet Bridgestone Arena crowd.

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The Predators did push back, though. P.K. Subban scored a few minutes later to cut the deficit to one and Nashville drew a holding penalty to earn their fourth power play of the game with less than five minutes to go, setting the stage for a big comeback opportunity.

But the Stars were all over it. Their penalty kill continued to shine. Bishop looked calm and composed even with the narrowest of leads. Roman Polak laid out in front of the net and blocked what could have been a surefire goal using his body. And after successfully navigating three minutes of a 6-on-5 disadvantage, the Dallas Stars exited Bridgestone Arena with a huge game one victory that put them out to an early lead in the series.

It was a nearly perfect win for the Stars. On the road, in a tough building, against the most experienced team in the Western Conference when it comes to playoff action.

But none of that served as a stumbling block for the Dallas Stars. They shook off a shaky start, took a 1-0 deficit to heart, and pushed back to win the final two periods with no panic or anxiety.

Their power play went 1/3 and took six shots (seven if you count the crossbar that Hintz hit) on the sixth-best penalty kill in the NHL. Their penalty kill was good when it needed to be even against a struggling Nashville power play and made some big stops late in the game.

The Stars didn’t let themselves get bullied by a Predators team that is bigger in size and physicality. When Nashville hit, Dallas hit back. Jamie Benn laid a few big hits in the game. Klingberg looked just plain angry. Alexander Radulov dug into the corners and posted a few big hits, too.

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And to top it all off, the Dallas Stars played their best style of game. They weathered the storm early with a decent defensive effort and then turned on the offensive gas in the second period. Dallas didn’t need a goal from Tyler Seguin or Jamie Benn to win. Heiskanen (and Radulov) and Zuccarello helped instead. Radek Faksa and Justin Dowling were the only forwards without a shot on net.

And that’s another thing. We could talk for hours about the play of the Finnish trio in Hintz (6 SOG), Lindell (+1, 3 BLK, 27:27 TOI), and Heiskanen (1 G, 1 A, 2 SOG, 2 BLK), who were three of the Stars’ best players. The similar theme for all three (besides the fact that they hail from Finland)? All three were playing in their first-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs game.

Even Jason Dickinson, who was on the receiving end of a booming hit by Boyle in the first period, quickly went through concussion protocol and hopped back onto the ice to keep battling in his first NHL playoff contest.

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Don’t forget about the play of Bishop, either. After serving as the rock for the Dallas Stars throughout most of the 2018-19 regular season, he was really good again, stopping 30/32 and shutting the door in the final few minutes of the third period to seal the win.

The resilience was there. The determination was there. And on top of everything, there was a certain sense of overwhelming confidence surging throughout the entire roster.

That was a team that was ready to win game one. That was a team that was ready to prove doubters wrong. That was a team that earned a big comeback win to kick off their journey in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s everything that the Dallas Stars could have asked for in their first playoff game since May 2016.

“We feel good right now,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn following the win. “But come tomorrow, we’ll look forward to Saturday. These guys are a great team. I’m sure they’re not too worried. They’ve been around for a while.”

One down. Only 15 to go.