Heika’s Take: Stankoven excels as Stars come up just short against Islanders

Taken at face value, the Stars’ 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of the New York Islanders on Monday is just another game where Dallas played really well and didn’t get full marks.

As it was in games against the Oilers, the Bruins, and the Rangers last week, the lads in Victory Green played hard, played well, and still found a way to let the game get away.

But if you listened to the crowd at American Airlines Center and experienced the exuberance of welcoming what they hope will become the next generation of Stars’ scorers, you had to feel pretty good about the night.

Logan Stankoven had his first career NHL goal and assist on his 21st birthday. In just his second NHL game, the 2021 draft pick sure looked like a guy who can play in this league. He logged 15:08, had two shots on goal and five hits.

“He was all over it all night, drawing penalties, scoring a goal, setting up another one,” DeBoer said. “He brought a lot of energy, a lot of second effort energy, so he fit right in.”

Stankoven drew a penalty to set up the first goal, and then had an assist as Matt Duchene scored on the power play to tie the game early in the second period. It was Duchene’s 800th career point and Stankoven’s first career point, so the excitement was doubly big.

“I think every time you hit another 100, it feels good,” said Duchene, who has 56 points this season. “But I think I was more happy for Stanky getting his first point and then his first goal. He was awesome for us tonight. I told him we have to cut it in half, but I mean he can have it. I’ll find another puck.”

The moment was electric in the building. Not only did the Stars get the tying goal, but it was clear the fans knew what the point meant to Stankoven. The 47th overall pick in 2021, Stankoven is listed at 5-8, 171. That’s probably the reason he dropped so far in the draft. On the ice, he has won multiple awards in the WHL and CHL and has been one of the top scorers in Major Junior. In his rookie season in the AHL, he was leading the league in scoring when he was called up.

So teammates said they are starting to see why Stankoven has been so successful.

“He’s just talented, and he works hard,” Duchene said. “Without work, your talent doesn’t mean anything. He’s working hard, he’s got good feet, I didn’t realize how good a skater he was. He does everything well. He looks like he’s for sure ready to make the step full time.”

Stankoven is taking things one day at a time. He knows he has to prove himself every game and that the Stars have two veteran forwards in Tyler Seguin and Evgenii Dadonov dealing with injuries. When those two players are healthy, the Stars will have some tough decisions to make, but that’s part of being a professional athlete.

“It’s nice to get that first goal,” Stankoven said. “It would have been nicer to cap it off with a win.”

That’s been a regular sentiment in recent weeks.

“I thought we were probably the better team tonight,” Duchene said. “A lot of good looks.”

Dallas is 1-2-3 in its past six games and has scored just six goals in its past four games.

“Goals haven’t come too easy for us the last little bit,” said Wyatt Johnston, who assisted on the Stankoven goal and had several great scoring chances. “Every guy on the ice can score goals, and we proved that throughout the season. So we need to get back to that, bearing down on those chances. We have had a lot of chances and it’s just about finishing them off.”

They’ll get a great chance to move past this game as they play at Colorado on Tuesday. The Avs are 35-19-5. The Stars are 35-16-9.

“There’s no time to feel sorry for us,” Duchene said. “It’s a big week and we’ve got a big one against Colorado.”

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 Twitter @MikeHeika.