First Shift 🏒
Now is the time for the sprint to the playoffs.
After trading Logan Stankoven and four draft picks for Mikko Rantanen on Friday, the Stars have to jump right back into play. Dallas is at Edmonton on Saturday and Vancouver on Sunday before a four-day break, but the transition is going to be frenetic. Rantanen is flying in from Carolina and expected to play on Saturday night. Will coach Pete DeBoer put him on a line with fellow Finn Hintz? Could he play right wing with a right-handed center in Wyatt Johnston? It’s all part of the fun of the NHL’s late trade deadline and where the Stars are in the standings.
“Now, you just sit back,” Stars GM Jim Nill said of the final 20 games in the regular season. “Let’s see how it all comes together. Coaches have to figure out lines, we’re going to have injured players coming back that we have to integrate in, you just want to see it all come together. It’s an exciting time.”
Nill placed defenseman Miro Heiskanen on long term IR on Friday, but because the Stars didn’t acquire another player, it affords them the ability to wait and see if either Heiskanen or Seguin are ready before the end of the regular season. Or, the team could wait and just ease both into the playoffs. Likewise, the loss of Stankoven creates some shuffling with the lower lines, and could allow different players some opportunities. Mix in the fact that Lian Bichsel is back from concussion protocol and the group of defensemen will be an area to watch.
The Stars sit third in the NHL at 84 points (41-19-2) and have been the hottest team in the league since Jan. 1. They also have one of the top two power plays and have to integrate Rantanen into that group.
“This is a short window, but there’s some connections there,” Nill said of Rantanen having some history with Hintz and Granlund from Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. “We play a fast-paced puck possession game, and he’s great that way. I think he’s going to even add to our power play even more.”
Nill added Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from San Jose on Feb. 1. Each has played 11 games with Dallas, and the Stars are 8-2-1. Granlund has seven assists in that span, while Ceci has three. They both are part of the regular flow now.
“That’s always the challenge when you come out of the trade deadline,” Nill said. “That’s one of the reasons for the timing of when we traded for Ceci and Granlund. We knew we had more time for them to build themselves into the team.”
Nill said the fact the team has played well together and has bonded also helps. Dallas had injuries to Johnston and Robertson coming out of training camp. It had a week-long trip to Finland early in the season. It had several players participating in the 4 Nations, and it has had Heiskanen, Seguin and Nils Lundkvist shelved with surgeries. So having the record they do is impressive.
“I think it’s where our team is right now. Right now, we’re third in the league and this gives us a good chance. We’re all in,” Nill said of the reason for the trade. “I’m proud of this group. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve had long playoff runs the last couple of years, we had the long trip to Finland, and they managed that well, we’ve had a lot of injuries. I’m really proud of the team and the coaching staff, because we’ve been very consistent.”
The key now is finishing strong and rolling into the postseason at full speed.
“I know we have a chance to win every night, and that’s a good feeling,” Nill said. “It shows you have good players in the room, players who care.”
