Stars' Finland contingent making impact in Stanley Cup Playoffs

DALLAS -- Miro Heiskanen and Mikko Rantanen took a few questions about themselves and their fellow Finnish teammates with the Dallas Stars, the defenseman and forward quizzed on everything from Finnish-leaning restaurants in the city to off-ice gatherings to, if they cooked, whether fish and potatoes were part of the main meal.

"I don't know but one thing I have to mention: Esa Lindell can't cook a steak," Rantanen said of the defenseman with a laugh.

So how does Lindell cook a steak?

"I guess not well enough," Lindell said with a smile.

All cooking and kidding aside, the Stars have something special with their five Finns: Heiskanen, Rantanen, Lindell and forwards Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund. They're tight, they're talented and they're looking to help get the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final.

They made history when they all started Game 2 of the Western Conference Final on Friday, the first time five Finnish skaters have done that for an NHL team since the League began tracking starters in 1997-98.

They may not have the chance to repeat that when they play the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN+, ABC).

Hintz sustained a lower-body injury when he was slashed by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse at 3:46 of the third period of the Stars' 3-0 loss to Edmonton in Game 2 on Friday. He needed to be helped to the locker room by trainers. Stars coach Pete DeBoer had no update afterward and said Saturday that he was awaiting Hintz's test results.

The best-of-7 series is tied.

Dallas has embraced Finn mania. Entering Games 1 and 2, the Stars had "Fighting Finns" towels placed on each seat at American Airlines Center. When Lindell scored an empty-net goal to seal the Stars' 6-3 win in Game 1 on Wednesday, all five Finns were on the ice together.

Stars general manager Jim Nill said the five are similar in nationality, but "they all have different personalities."

"Granlund's kind of the grandfather of the group. He's a quiet man but he comes in there and you can just see the respect they have for him. These younger guys saw him, he's been a leader of Finnish hockey for a long time.

"Heiskanen's an up-and-coming star but he's quiet. Lindell, quiet but not quiet. He has his own way of saying things. Roope Hintz, a little more flamboyance in how they conduct themselves. It just goes on and on and they're great people and they're very committed to winning."

According to NHL Stats, 56 Finns played at least one game in the regular season: 46 forwards and defensemen and 10 goaltenders. There are 12 Finns who have played in at least one conference final game this year: one for the Oilers (forward Kasperi Kapanen), two for the Carolina Hurricanes (forwards Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi) four for the Florida Panthers (forwards Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola) and five for Dallas.

"I feel like I'm playing abroad, to be honest with you, playing in a European League. The Finnish Mafia, we call them," Stars forward Colin Blackwell said with a laugh. "I've played with a lot of Finns over my career and they're all very similar in the sense that they're two-way, really good players and great human beings, too. Having those guys, they're not only the best players on our team leading the way but they're great guys off the ice, too."

Indeed, the group has been a big part of the Stars' success. Rantanen, whom the Stars acquired from the Hurricanes prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 15 playoff games, tied for the League lead with Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl (six goals, 14 assists) and Connor McDavid (three goals, 17 assists). He had back-to-back hat tricks this postseason, the first coming against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, in Game 7 of the first round. The second came in Game 1 of the second round against the Winnipeg Jets.

"I guess I can't pump his tires enough, how helpful he's been in the playoffs," Lindell said of Rantanen. "When the trade came out that he was coming to us, I texted him that I was happy to be on the same side now. No need to battle him anymore."

Granlund, acquired from the San Jose Sharks with defenseman Cody Ceci on Feb. 1, has nine points (five goals, four assists) in 15 games including his first career hat trick in Game 4 of the second round.

"Two great players and they're both a big part of our team," Heiskanen said of Rantanen and Granlund. "It's great to have them here. I've played with them both before, so [I] kind of knew what to expect, and played against them a lot and that wasn't fun. So, it's great to have them here and it's fun off the ice, too. Can speak Finnish and do stuff together."

Hintz has long been a top-line center for the Stars and is tied for second on the team with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 games. Heiskanen has been the Stars' best defenseman throughout his career and, since returning from a knee injury that kept him out for 3 1/2 months, has four points (one goal, three assists) in five playoff games. Lindell is on the top defense pair and and a big part of the penalty kill; he averaged 3:35 of short-handed ice time per game in the regular season and is averaging 4:39 per game in the postseason, second to New Jersey Devils defenseman Brent Pesce (4:40 per game).

"I would say [we're] very tight," Lindell said. "Speaking your own language helps. I'm not saying English isn't easy, (Lindell said he started learning English in the third grade) but it just feels like we know each other a little bit, even before being teammates, so it's easy to build from that and then it's easy to help more on the off-ice stuff. I feel everyone knows how to play and how each other plays."

DeBoer said what he likes about the Finnish players is that "they understand winning hockey."

"They understand how to create offense with removing the risk from the game. That's how you win gold medals internationally. It's also how you win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs," he said. "Those guys have a high skill level, but they don't cheat or force offense. They let it come to them, and they make good decisions with the puck, winning hockey decisions with the puck. When it's not there, they don't force it. That's what everybody's looking for out of their skill guys this time of year."

This isn't the first time the Stars have been Finn-heavy. In 2005-06 Dallas had six Finnish players: forwards Jere Lehtinen, Jussi Jokinen, Niko Kapanen, Antti Miettinen and Niklas Hagman, and defenseman Janne Niinimaa. Among that group, Lehtinen was the clear star, and Jokinen was known for his shootout prowess (10-for-13 in 2005-06, the first season of the shootout's existence). Hagman, Kapanen and Miettinen were more role players for the Stars.

So, what is it with the Stars and the Finns?

"That's a good question," Lehtinen said with a laugh. "All the Finnish players are usually good team guys and are good guys (off the ice), too. It's great to see that over the years."

Lehtinen played his whole NHL career with the Stars from 1995-2010, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. He was also a three-time winner of the Selke Trophy, awarded to the League's top defensive forward (1997-98, 1998-99 and 2002-03). He's the last non-center in the NHL to win the award.

"There are a lot of different types of players who've been in Dallas -- the skill guys, the more role guys -- but the common thing is they're good team guys," said Lehtinen, who manages the Finland national team. "Everybody wants to win, and they play for the team and at the same time, good teammates."

The Stars had fun with their Finnish roster at the time. One in-arena game, "Finnish or Gibberish," created by former game presentation director Scott Robertson, ran from approximately 2006-08. Jeff Kovarsky, the Stars public address announcer who was in-game host and musical director at that time, said they did the game with Jokinen and Miettinen, among others.

"We had them pre-record it on video, saying some sort of phrase," he said, "and it was either real Finnish or they were just making up sounds, and the contestant had to guess if it was Finnish or gibberish, and the player would come on after that in another pre-recorded bit and reveal whether they were saying actual Finnish or not.

"We've obviously got the opportunities to scream 'Stars' during the national anthem, but when Jokinen was popular, especially in the shootout, fans would yell 'Jussi' for the 'you see' part. The Finns in Dallas go all the way back to Jere Lehtinen and the Cup run. Dallas is Suomi south."

The Stars are trying to get to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020. Their Finnish players likely will have to play a big part in getting them there.

"They play the game the right way," Nill said. "When you talk about the Finnish players, they play the game the right way. They're well coached, they understand both ends of the ice and I have so much respect for them."