Heika's Take: Stars prove promising power play potential

Earlier in the season, new Stars coach Pete DeBoer said he felt the team had the personnel to ice one of the best power plays in the league.
On Tuesday, we saw a little bit of that potential.

Dallas went 3-for-4 on the power play and took a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center, busting out of a bit of a power play slump and bouncing back from their worst games of the year.
"It was an important response game for us," DeBoer said. "This league is all about response. You're not going to be good every night, and I loved our response."

It was a great overall performance, as Dallas controlled the first period, scored first for the eighth time in 10 games, and ran away with things when they scored three goals in 90 seconds in the second period. Scott Wedgewood stepped in for injured Jake Oettinger and registered 30 saves in the win, while Miro Heiskanen returned from a three-game injury hiatus and helped drive the power play.
Key to all of it was the power play, which made the Kings pay for their transgressions and took a lot of energy out of a team who played Monday in St. Louis. Dallas opened the scoring with a power play goal 6:49 into the game, and then used a power play goal in the second to start a run of three quick goals that put the game away.
Hintz scored the first man advantage goal when he took a pass and scored from the left circle in the first. Jason Robertson scored the second when he unleashed a one-timer with the score tied 1-1 in the second period. Robertson said over the summer he wanted to work on his one-timer, and this showed he has clearly put the time in.
Tyler Seguin followed with a pretty goal about a minute later, and then Hintz scored his second goal of the game to make it 4-1.
Hintz finished with two goals and an assist, Robertson had a goal and two assists, Benn and Heiskanen then added two assists apiece. It was a balanced effort throughout, but it was clear what a difference Heiskanen makes when he is back in the lineup.
"We were much better than we were the other night, but his impact is huge," DeBoer said. "He gets us out of our end quicker, cleaner, makes so many plays. He's one of the best in the world for a reason, and when he's out of the lineup we're a different team."

Benn added: "He breaks out by himself, he carries it in by himself, he's got the puck on his stick all night, he makes good plays, he runs a pretty good PP."
That power play has struggled while Heiskanen had been battling his injury, but with the three-goal night it now ranks seventh at 26.5 percent. With Heiskanen running the show and players like Hintz, Robertson, Benn, Seguin and Joe Pavelski at the ready, the Stars do believe they can be not just good, but great.
"I think we have two really good units and I think we need to be top five at least," Heiskanen said. "That's what we want, to make a difference on power play, and we've got great guys for that."

Benn added: "I think we've got two great units. We want to keep getting better. It was clicking tonight, but we can't have any lulls during the year. We need to keep this going."
Of course, having Heiskanen made a big difference, but DeBoer is right that the entire team played well. That was key for Wedgewood. That was key to keeping everybody engaged and spreading the minutes through the roster.
"We lost three out of four games there, something we don't want to do, so it was big coming back and answering with a solid 60 minute effort," Benn said.
An effort that puts them 6-3-1 and sends them off on a three-game road trip in a place of confidence.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.