Department of ... Offense?: Stars defensemen continue to rack up goals

The Stars' coaching staff put a lot of thought into what changes needed to be made during the NHL's pause. And much of their time and dedication went into activating the defensemen in a controlled manner so as to help the team's scoring.
They couldn't have imagined it working out any better than this.

READ MORE: '[Team performance' pushes Stars past Lightning for series-opening victory]
Dallas has received 58 points from defensemen, already a franchise record. The 15 goals from blueliners leads all NHL teams, and Jamie Oleksiak and Joel Hanley were at the forefront Saturday, pushing Dallas to a 2-1 lead that would be enough to hold up for the winning goals in a
4-1 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 1
of the Stanley Cup Final.
"We went into training camp in July. We put the first three days in camp on exactly that, our defense getting a lot more involved, not only with the rush, but in the offensive zone and getting more shots from them, just getting our D more involved," Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said of the main goal of training camp. "In this league today, your D have to be a big part of your offense. They do. You need the fourth man on the rush.

"Everyone pack five guys down by the net, blocking shots, so you've got to get your D involved in the offensive zone. That's something we put a lot of focus on from the first day of training camp in July."
Oleksiak was listening. He has been one of the team's most active defensemen, and his goal Saturday was a perfect example. He drove in from the left point after a Tampa Bay forward was late getting back, and then scored on his own rebound when nobody picked him up. Oleksiak credited Alexander Radulov with getting the whole thing started.
"It was pretty open on the back side there. Rads made a great pass through the seam and I had a lot of time, so I was just kind of moving in and seeing what their D men were doing, if they were going to block it, what their goalie was doing, and you know, he got a piece of the first one," Oleksiak said. "I was able to grab the rebound and get it by him on the second opportunity, so great play by Rads, and I think it was a matter of sticking with it."
And the coaching staff gets a big assist.

"I think this playoffs, we're getting the D involved a little bit more, and I think the opportunities have come my way and I've been able to put a couple in," Oleksiak said. "I think it's just a product of good team play and kind of our system and what that affords the D men to do, and like I said, it's definitely nice to contribute in that way."
Hanley has skill and had 28 points in 60 games with the Texas Stars two seasons ago. He has tried to play a more simple game in the NHL. However, a chance came to push down the slot, so he took it and lifted a perfect shot over Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the opening goal. Roope Hintz was credited with the assist after Joel Kiviranta made a nice hit to dislodge a puck.
"I think how the play developed, I think it was Kivi who had a nice check in the corner, and saw Roope go behind the net and I saw kind of an opening in the middle," Hanley said. "So when Roope passed it, I don't know if I lifted up my head or not. I don't know what it looks like on camera, but I just tried to pick a corner and shoot as hard as I could, and it was lucky enough to go in."
It is his first goal in the NHL, regular season or playoffs.

"Obviously it's something you dream about when you're young and stuff," he said of scoring in the Stanley Cup Final. "It's just cool to be able to contribute with a goal like that, so yeah, it was pretty cool."
Hanley is hopeful more opportunities will come in the future with the Stars employing the strategy of looking for more from their defensemen.
"I think that's just one of the things we want to create offensively, obviously, is getting the D involved, and we have great defensemen," Hanley said. "So I think that's just a part of the team and we want to whenever there's an opportunity to jump up and get shots, we want to do that.
"You see it around the league, defensemen jumping up and trying to get shots for offense, so I think that's just something that we've done a good job of so far."

Kiviranta continues to earn minutes, come up clutch

Joel Kiviranta seized a moment in the second round of the playoffs and he still hasn't let go.
The 24-year-old Finnish forward was called into action in Game 7 against Colorado because of an injury to Andrew Cogliano and scored a hat trick, including the game-winning goal in overtime.
That earned Kiviranta the next start against Vegas and he continued to look good. In Game 5 against the Golden Knights, Kiviranta scored on a rebound to tie the contest and force overtime. On Saturday, Kiviranta scored in the last minute of the second period to give the Stars a 3-1 lead and some breathing room in Game 1 against Tampa Bay.
Through nine playoff games, Kiviranta has five goals, one assist, 18 shots on goal and 24 hits. It's been a pretty consistent performance in which Bowness knows what he is going to get each night.
"He's fearless," Bowness said. "As inexperienced as he is in terms of playing in our league, he's one of our best forwards in making plays off the boards with the puck, so he has a lot of poise and confidence with the puck."

Kiviranta made a big hit that led to Joel Hanley's goal and typically helps the Stars keep possession or gain possession. He's also good with his stick and finds a way to break up a lot of opposition plays before they ever get started.
"He's very reliable defensively, and he's very confident with the puck," Bowness said.
"Offensively, he's a great skater, he's a great competitor, he's a great kid, so he's been a huge help to us. When you want to win in the playoffs, you need some guys to step up. Kivi has certainly stepped up, and not just on the goal -- he does a very good job defensively, he does a good job in our zone, he does a good job on the boards."
Of course, the goals do get attention. He had 12 in 48 games with the Texas Stars this season, and already has five in nine playoff games.
"Sometimes, it's just be like wherever you shoot the puck, it goes in," he said. "Of course it feels good. Like I said, we still have three more wins to go, so it doesn't matter who scores the goals."

Notable

Game 2: Stars vs. Lightning (Dallas leads 1-0)

Monday, 7 p.m. CT
Where:Rogers Place, Edmonton
TV:NBCSN
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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, and listen to his podcast.