Heika’s Take: Stars take smart, opportunistic approach in win over Canucks

The Stars played a smart game on Sunday night.

Coming off a scrambly loss in Edmonton the night before, facing a Vancouver team that likes to play low-event hockey, and trying to survive without Roope Hintz (who missed the game with a facial injury), Dallas played a patient, detailed game and took a 4-1 win over the Canucks at Rogers Arena.

“It was a good response game for us,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “Back-to-back with no Roope Hintz, I thought we came in and played the type of road game we needed to. We defended hard, we took care of the puck, we were opportunistic when we needed to be. I thought it was a pretty solid road effort.”

Dallas got big goals from Thomas Harley and Mikael Granlund to forge a 2-1 lead after two periods, and then received a spectacular series of events from Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene to add a huge insurance goal early in the third period. Newcomer Mikko Rantanen added an empty-net goal, and backup netminder Casey DeSmith was incredibly solid in making 22 saves to get his 10th win in the past 12 games.

All in all, it was a classic team win for a team that continues to be among the hottest in the league. Dallas now sits 42-20-2, good for 86 points – third best in the NHL.

“I thought our details were really good,” said Duchene, who finished with two assists. “That’s a well-coached team, stingy. We knew we had to play a smart game. It was tough getting anything going offensively, but we were opportunistic. I thought we did a good job of not giving up too much, and when we did give something up, Casey was huge. It was a really smart game.”

Dallas finished with 19 shots on goal, the second-fewest it has produced this season. But the strategy worked because it also didn’t give up a ton of scoring chances. Coming off a “pond hockey” game in Edmonton on Saturday, the Stars were determined to fix their mistakes with the puck - and it showed.

“I think we kind of let the game come to us,” DeSmith said. “We played a really solid back-to-back defensive style game, and I was the beneficiary of that. We did a lot of things well to earn that win.”

DeSmith was among the best things. He had to come up with a couple of huge saves, he benefited from a save by the goalpost, and he also saw a goal waved off late in the third because it was batted in with a hand. He is now 12-6-0 on the season with a .914 save percentage. DeSmith signed with the Stars as a free agent in the summer after spending last season with the Canucks. He said facing his old teammates was special.

“It feels great,” he said with a huge smile. “I’m only human, so it feels good to beat that team. I’ve got a lot of buddies on that team and I’m looking forward to going out and seeing them.”

The Stars have not registered more than two consecutive regulation losses this season, and DeSmith is a big reason why. He often comes in on the second night of a back-to-back, and gets a lot of the tough assignments. But because he has been able to stop the bleeding, Dallas has not faced a ton of slumps or negative momentum. The Stars have the best record in the NHL on the second night of a back-to-back at 7-2-0.

“He’s been unbelievable,” said Duchene. “I know he’s our backup, but he’s been another starter the way he has played. He makes hard saves look easy, he’s extremely fast and explosive, there’s not many bad goals that go in on him. He’s been a tremendous addition to our team.”

DeSmith, 32, has won six consecutive games, which is the best run in his NHL career.

“I feel really confident,” he said. “Playing behind this team helps a lot. We’ve been playing really good hockey and that makes it easier on me.”

DeSmith works hard in practice to make sure his teammates are ready on nights when he’s not playing, and that builds a camaraderie for when he is on the ice, he said.

“I have to be there for my teammates,” he said. “They’re there for me, night in and night out, and when it’s my turn to play back-to-back, maybe I need to make a couple of big saves, maybe I just need to be steady Eddy and not let in any bad ones.”

He was a steady Eddy on Sunday, and that allowed his teammates to operate calmly. After Harley gave the Stars the lead on a shot through a Mavrik Bourque screen, Vancouver found a way to tie things up. The clock was ticking down in the second, when a series of events gave Dallas the eventual game-winner. Hintz took a puck to the face in Edmonton and flew back to Dallas on Sunday. That forced some shuffling, and Duchene found himself out on the ice with Rantanen. Duchene was tossed out of the faceoff circle for a violation, so Rantanen had to step in. The big Finn won the draw, and Cody Ceci eventually put a shot on net from the point. The rebound went straight to Granlund on the left side of the net, and he potted his first goal in a Stars’ uniform with 25.9 seconds left before second intermission.

It was a great shift for a lot of reasons. Duchene had to take extra responsibility because of Hintz’s absence and handled it flawlessly. Rantanen handled the crazy trade from Carolina and signing an eight-year contract extension on Friday before flying to Edmonton. He played his first game with the Stars on Saturday, then doubled up in Vancouver on Sunday.

“He fits,” said DeBoer. “You can play him in a bunch of different spots. He’s going to be an important player for a long time.”

Duchene and Robertson then created the third goal in a manner that was the definition of opportunistic. The line had a great scoring chance, but then saw the puck go the other way. Robertson hustled on a wily backcheck and stole the puck, wheeled and created his own transition. Duchene then whistled a puck through a crowd that Robertson tipped in for his 28th goal of the season, and that was pretty much the game.

“We’re pretty good at protecting a two-goal lead,” Duchene said.

And a lot of other things – like closing out third periods (now 30-1-1 when leading after two) and netting empty-net goals (tied for 11th in the league with 15).

Bottom line, they are skilled, talented…and smart. That’s a deadly combination.

“This is a great team they’ve assembled here,” said DeSmith. “We’re excited. I’m excited.”

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.