Heiskanen 'a warrior' for Stars in Game 4 of Western 2nd Round

SEATTLE -- Miro Heiskanen's face was still swollen on the left side after the Dallas Stars' 6-3 victory against the Seattle Kraken in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.

Dark red, almost black, dried blood scabbed over stitches holding together a deep cut in his cheek.

The 23-year-old defenseman had an assist and played 31:02, by far the most of any skater on either team, helping the Stars tie the best-of-7 series 2-2.

Game 5 is at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS).

Heiskanen made it seem so routine that it was hard to believe where he had been about 48 hours earlier, stuck in a training room after taking a puck in the face, getting stitched up, feeling helpless as his team unraveled in a 7-2 loss.

"Of course, I can hear the goal horn," Heiskanen said. "It's kind of [a] bad feeling when you are laying on the table and can't do much there. But it's part of the game. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and too serious."

The score was 0-0 early in the second period of Game 3 on Sunday when Kraken forward Tye Kartye fired a shot above the left face-off circle. The puck hit Stars defenseman Ryan Suter, then rose high and wide right, striking Heiskanen.

Immediately, Heiskanen dropped to all fours.

"Terrible bounce," Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger said. "It hits your best defenseman in the face, blows up his cheek pretty much."

And then it falls right to an opponent.

Seattle forward Jordan Eberle collected the puck in front of the net, pirouetted and scored at 2:10 of the second as Heiskanen stayed down.

After Heiskanen was helped off the ice with a bloody towel pressed to his face, forward Alex Wennberg scored at 3:36, defenseman Carson Soucy at 6:30 and forward Matty Beniers at 8:22.

In other words, the Kraken scored on four straight shots to take a 4-0 lead after the injury.

Heiskanen said he was "pretty close" to coming back, but by the end of the second period, Seattle led 5-1.

"We didn't want to take any risks," Heiskanen said. "Probably if that was a little tighter game, I probably had a chance to come back."

RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]

Heiskanen means so much to the Stars.

In the regular season, he had 73 points (11 goals, 62 assists) in 79 games, tying for fifth among NHL defensemen with Brandon Montour of the Florida Panthers and Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres. He averaged 25:29 of ice time per game, sixth among NHL skaters.

The Stars feel he should have been a finalist for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the NHL's best defenseman.

Entering Game 3 of this series, Heiskanen was averaging 29:45 of ice time per game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading NHL skaters. He had seven assists in eight games.

Just to see Heiskanen in a full shield at the morning skate and in warmup gave Dallas a lift.

"He's the backbone of our team," Stars forward Max Domi said. "Everyone knows that. Unbelievable player on both sides of the puck, and to get him back is not only great for what happens on the ice, but just the confidence in this room."

Heiskanen wasn't dominant Tuesday. The Kraken actually controlled 57.5 percent of the shot attempts when he was on the ice, and he was minus-2. Still, he made many of his usual subtle contributions, breaking up plays with his stick or positioning, helping the Stars break out with his smooth passing.

Afterward, he made it seem like no big deal to play more than half the game with a busted face and full shield.

"It didn't bother me," Heiskanen said. "Felt pretty good there. It doesn't matter. I felt pretty normal. It's always nice to get minutes up again."

It was a big deal, though.

"What'd he play, 31 minutes tonight?" Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley said. "He makes it look so easy out there. Like, I'll be on the bench. He'll do something. Like, 'Holy [cow]. How'd he do that?' But yeah, you know, he's the safety blanket. He's just about everything for us back there."

Oettinger said much the same thing.

"He's such a steady, calming presence for the whole team, and he makes it look so easy," Oettinger said. "Sometimes I just find myself laughing at some of the stuff he does and just how easy he makes it look, and I'm thinking, 'Hey, it's not as easy as you made that look.'"

We see players gut through injuries so often in the playoffs. We see so much brilliance from Heiskanen on a nightly basis. But we shouldn't take either for granted.

"He's one of the best in the world at that position," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's a warrior. That's a nasty gash. Hasn't been able to eat much. Probably hasn't slept well. And show up and play a game like that? That's pretty impressive."