Heika’s Take: Stars secure 50th win of season over Sabres, enter playoffs on high note

Because it wasn’t affecting the standings for either team, you could have called the regular season finale Wednesday between the Stars and Buffalo Sabres “meaningless.”

However, the lads in Victory Green didn’t feel that way.

Dallas took a 4-3 win in the shootout to get its 50th victory of the season – the third straight season of 50-plus by the franchise. They’re just the seventh team in NHL history to collect 50 or more wins in three straight seasons.

“It’s hard to get 50 in this league,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said of a team that finished with the third-best record in the league at 50-20-12 (112 points). “Good on our guys. Just the fact they were thinking about it shows you about our group. It’s quite an accomplishment by them.”

Mix in the fact that Mavrik Bourque scored his 20th goal, Sam Steel and Nils Lundkvist were able to get back into the lineup, and the roster was about as close as it could get to “playoff ready.”

So, yeah, this was kind of important.

“It shows the character of the group,” said rookie Justin Hryckowian, who scored his 14th goal and tallied his 30th point of the season. “Being able to battle back and not just throw in the towel even though statistically there’s not much to play for.”

Truth be told, the Sabres rested a lot of players while the Stars are recovering from several injuries and wanted to get more rhythm to their game. That helped as the game went on and Dallas started to tilt some analytics in its favor.

Dallas finished with a 28-24 advantage in shots on goal, which is a rare occasion in recent weeks. It was close on shot attempts, scoring chances, faceoffs and hits – and that is a big part of the checklist before the playoffs.

“What I liked about our group was we didn’t have a great first (period), but we wanted some habits to stay in our game,” Gulutzan said. “I like the way they dialed in and I liked the way they were talking on the bench. That’s the important stuff.”

The training staff has worked hard to get the injured players back, and the coaching staff has inserted them over the past few games in a manner that makes sense. Steel has been out nine games with a lower body injury, but he jumped back on the top line with Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen and that trio showed some chemistry. The second line of Matt Duchene with Bourque and Jason Robertson again looked good, and Bourque scored just two minutes into the game.

The third line featured Hryckowian with Jamie Benn and Michael Bunting (with Hryckowian tallying a goal and an assist), and the fourth line had Radek Faksa centering Oskar Bäck and Adam Erne. Healthy scratches Colin Blackwell and Arttu Hyry still could work into the Game 1 lineup against Minnesota, but the coaching staff finally has some real options.

On defense, Esa Lindell played with Ilya Lybushkin, while Lundkvist came back from three missed games to take his spot on the second pairing next to Thomas Harley. That allowed the third pairing of Tyler Myers and Lian Bichsel to reunite.

Lindell had a goal and an assist, and there is a good chance that he will be back with regular partner Miro Heiskanen in Game 1. Heiskanen has missed three games with a lower body injury.

Tyler Seguin is out for the year, and Roope Hintz has a lower body injury that could keep him out of the lineup for the first few playoff games, so Dallas isn’t in perfect shape. But the team does look pretty good right now.

“That was my goal,” Steel said of playing at least one game. “After missing some time, there is a little bit of rust to break off and get your touches in and get back into thinking at that speed of the game. It’s good to get back and get one before the playoffs.”

Dallas had to navigate the losses of Seguin, Hintz, Benn, Duchene, Bichsel, Rantanen, Faksa and Steel among others. Yet, the Stars still were able to put together the third-best record in the league.

“Fifty wins…that looks pretty nice,” Lindell said.

It would look a lot nicer if the team is able to win in the playoffs. Last season, Dallas went into the postseason on a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2). This year it is on a five-game winning streak. Last year, the team snapped out of it and beat Colorado in the first round.

This year…

“It probably feels a bit more different from the outside,” Steel said. “Last year, we were comfortable and confident going into the playoffs, but it is nice going in winning. There are less questions.”

On Wednesday, Dallas was tied at 3-3 after the second intermission and controlled the third period. It then received shootout goals from Robertson, Duchene and Johnston to get the win. That was important.

“It was about playing a complete game and we’re getting ourselves ready,” Lindell said. “I feel it helps us stay in the rhythm.”

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.