Heika’s Take: Stars close out busy stretch with gritty win in St. Louis

On Saturday night, the Stars finished a run of 11 games in 19 days, including three back-to-backs.

They definitely need a break.

But with a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Blues via a 33-save shutout by goalie Casey DeSmith, Dallas certainly made the most of a tough stretch. The lads in Victory Green went 7-4-0 in a segment of the schedule that included seven road games and recent contests against Vegas, Colorado and Carolina in the past week alone. That puts them 31-17-1 overall, good for 63 points and second in the Central Division. Dallas is now 12-4-1 against the division, a huge boost to a team that still is trying to find its groove this season.

“Lately, we have been playing well,” said defenseman Esa Lindell, who tallied a power play goal. “I feel like [coach] Pete [DeBoer] says it, we give ourselves a chance to win every night. I think that’s been happening and we’re putting points in the bank.”

Saturday was a tough one. The Stars played a brutal and emotional game at home against Vegas and squeezed out a 4-3 win on Friday. They flew to St. Louis and got the Blues on a night when they were honoring their Hall of Fame inductees. Dallas scored on a breakaway where Jason Robertson made a smart tip pass to Evgenii Dadonov, and the veteran found a way to push a puck past goalie Jordan Binnington.

“The puck was kind of bouncing and the goalie tried to poke check me,” Dadonov said. “It happened quick.”

But just as they did Friday in the win over Vegas, the Stars made the plays they had to make. Robertson was creative in allowing Dadonov to speed through the neutral zone. Dadonov was creative in finding a way to get Binnington to miss the puck. It was both fortunate and earned.

And when Dallas had a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the game, St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery was not pleased. He called a timeout, brought his team over to the bench and gave them a stern talking to. He pushed for a higher level of urgency, and the team complied. St. Louis put several quick shot attempts at DeSmith, but somehow the puck stayed out.

“I had some fortunate bounces, a couple of posts, and they missed a couple of big chances when the net was pretty empty,” DeSmith said. “The guys just battled. It’s a hard thing to do these back-to-backs, and I thought top to bottom, we just battled. That was the message that was preached in the locker room.”

Dallas clearly was struggling at times, but both luck and DeSmith proved the key. The Stars got a power play two minutes after the goal, and time was trickling down with the Blues looking to complete the kill. However, Lindell hopped on the ice late in the man advantage, and found himself wide open low in the right circle. Roope Hintz saw the big defenseman and whipped a pass through the slot. Lindell slapped it in for his fourth goal of the year, and the Stars had a 2-0 lead.

“I just got the tail of the power play and we got it in the zone, and I’ve got to give credit to my fellow Finn with that nice pass,” Lindell said.

The two are good friends and will be teammates on Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, so it made sense.

“I would like to say there is a little extra,” Lindell said of the chemistry with Hintz. “Obviously, we spend a lot of time together.”

The 2-0 lead added to the Blues’ frustration, and DeSmith then really started to get into their heads. The 33-year-old finished with 33 saves, and did a great job of coming up big at all the right times. DeSmith, who signed as a free agent in the 2024 offseason, is now 7-6-0 with a 2.42 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

“He’s a great teammate, first off, a really hard-working guy,” DeBoer said. “And when you’re that kind of guy, the guys want to play hard for you.”

The Stars showed their lack of energy in the second period as St. Louis had a 14-6 advantage in shots on goal. However, Dallas buckled down in the third period and gave up just seven shots on goal to help DeSmith get his 12th career shutout.

“They knew it was important to him,” DeBoer said. “We didn’t have a lot left, but what we did have the guys gave him. It was a big shutout.”

It was just another sign that the team is finding its way down the rocky path that is the 2024-25 season. The win against Vegas was big, the win against St. Louis was big. These are things that can help a team once they get to the postseason.

“That’s what good teams do,” DeSmith said. “It’s playoff-style hockey. That’s the kind of game we have to bring to the table if we want to win.”

The Stars are currently navigating without Tyler Seguin (hip surgery) and Mason Marchment (face surgery) in the lineup. They battled through several players taking a beating on Saturday. Mavrik Bourque and Matt Duchene both were bloodied by pucks and elbows. Brendan Smith and Oskar Bäck took high sticks to the face as well. But all did what had to be done to secure the win.

It was a gritty performance, and the Stars earned a day off. They play just one game (at Vegas on Tuesday) in the next five days, so they get a chance to recharge as they approach Game 50 of 82.

“It was a big two points,” DeBoer said. “We found a way to win, and we’re looking forward to a day off.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.