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One of the oddest things about the NHL is the fact that players are traded to a new team, immediately jump into a new lineup, and play as if they have been there all season.

The Stars experienced that on Sunday, adding newly acquired players Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci into the mix, as well as returning injured forward Mason Marchment, and then calmly beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3, at American Airlines Center.

“I thought they were both really solid, as advertised,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said of Granlund and Ceci. “Especially when you consider they flew across the country last night and everything that’s on your plate – new team, new systems – I thought they both fit in seamlessly.”

Pete DeBoer speaks to the media after the win against Columbus

They actually walked into a typical Stars game, as Dallas found a way to win for the fifth time in a row and push its record to 34-17-1, the third best mark in the NHL.

“I thought we grinded and battled, a lot like the streak we’ve been on, we didn’t beat ourselves,” DeBoer said. “We found a way to weather the storm when we needed to and found a big goal when we needed to.”

Evgenii Dadonov came up with two huge goals in the third period, Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist and Thomas Harley had two assists. Just as importantly, Granlund played 16:40 and had a primary assist in his first game in a Stars uniform, while Ceci logged 22:18 and two hits. The two players came over in a trade from San Jose on Saturday. They flew in later that night, went through quick meetings on Sunday, and then jumped right onto the ice for a 5 p.m. start.

It’s not uncommon in hockey, although Ceci said it was a first for him.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” Ceci said. “I mean it's the first time being traded in the [middle of the] season for me. It definitely all happened really fast, especially with today being a 5 p.m. game. There were no meetings this morning. We flew in last night and came right to the game.”

Cody Ceci speaks to the media after the game against Columbus.

Ceci played last season with Edmonton and faced the Stars in the playoffs, so he knows them well. He also is a former teammate of center Matt Duchene from their days in Ottawa. Granlund knows the Stars’ Finnish players and also is former teammates with both Duchene (in Nashville) and Matt Dumba (in Minnesota). Both said that familiarity helps make the transition a little smoother.

“There are a few Finnish players here, and Duchene, and I played with Dumba back in the day,” Granlund said. “Some familiar faces and it makes the adjustment easier for sure, so I am really happy to be here.”

Both are coming from a San Jose team that won’t make the playoffs, so stepping right into the thick of a playoff race is pretty fun.

“You can tell right away that this team has been doing good,” Granlund said. “Everybody knows exactly what to do out there, so it is kind of nice to jump in on that one. I am sure my game will get better as the time goes on and I get more comfortable and learn other guys’ tendencies and all that. It’s good to get the win in the first game and just move on from here.”

Mikael Granlund speaks to the media after his first game as a Dallas Star

Marchment has been out since December 27 after he took a puck to the face and had to have surgery. He has been working out for weeks, and he looked great right off the hop. The big winger played 13:11, drew a penalty early in the game, and scored the Stars’ first goal on a sweet deflection. His celebration told a story of just what he had been through.

“That was awesome,” he said. “It just feels so good. First one, first game, it was just so fun.”

Dallas won the puck possession game, finishing with a 39-30 advantage in shots on goal and a 72-64 edge in shot attempts, but Columbus is a tough opponent. The Blue Jackets went 10-3-1 in January and are pushing for a playoff spot in the East. Columbus had three leads in the game, but the Stars kept tying things up. Logan Stankoven scored off a nice pass from Granlund, and Johnston tallied a power play goal off a beautiful feed from Harley, and that had the game tied at 3-3 in the third period.

That’s when Dadonov came up big. The veteran forward tipped a Harley shot out of the air for the eventual game-winner with eight minutes left. Officials reviewed to see if the puck was deflected above the crossbar, but the goal stood. Dadonov then made a sneaky wraparound play behind the net and flicked the puck towards the net, and that slipped through for a 5-3 lead.

It was just another example of finding a way to win, and Marchment said he has been impressed watching his teammates do the same thing over and over again.

“Just how hard we work and how much we want to win,” Marchment said of what he has observed in the past month or so. “I think there were games while I was out watching that easily could’ve went the other way and the guys really bared down and found a way. I think good teams find a way to win when you don’t have your best and I thought we did that quite a bit.”

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.

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