Heika’s Take: Special teams and goaltending shine again as Stars down Jets, 4-3

Special teams and goaltending have been a great formula for the Stars on many nights this season, and they were again on Tuesday in Winnipeg.

Casey DeSmith stopped 30 shots, the power play went 2-for-4 and the penalty kill went 4-for-4 in a 4-3 win at Canada Life Centre. It was just another display of how the team has been opportunistic in rolling up a spectacular 21-5-5 record.

“It was a hard-fought divisional game,” said DeSmith, who pushed his record to 7-1-3 with a 2.23 GAA and .920 save percentage. “That’s always how it is here. We got out to a 3-0 lead, but no lead is safe here. It was a great job by our guys.”

The game was a microcosm of the Stars’ season. Esa Lindell scored in the first minute, and Roope Hintz (on the power play) and Alexander Petroivic added goals in the second period to make the score 3-0. It was the perfect mix of depth players and the highly-skilled top six taking advantage of great opportunities.

But, when it looked too good, recently-recovered Nils Lundkvist had a giveaway in front of DeSmith to make it 3-1, and then Winnipeg scored on a nice skill play just after a power play expired to make it 3-2.

The Stars just can’t make things too easy, it seems.

DeSmith was there to bail his teammates out on a couple of occasions, and that allowed the Stars to earn a third-period power play. The man advantage whipped the puck around cleanly, and Jason Robertson converted a pass from Miro Heiskanen into a one-timer that provided the game-winning goal and also was the 19th of the season for the American-born forward.

Dallas ranks third in power play success at 31.4 percent, but had just one man advantage goal in the previous four games. Gulutzan said other teams had been figuring out the Stars’ tendencies and so they had to be more creative.

That game-winning goal was a great example of putting a plan into motion.

“We’ve got to keep adjusting,” said Wyatt Johnston, who finished with two assists. “Whenever a team makes an adjustment to take things away, that can also open things up. It’s up to us. The coaching staff has given us the adjustments and the looks we need to use that.”

Gulutzan has emphasized that he wants to see more “pond hockey” at times, letting the players use their skill.

“We’re just making plays,” Johnston said. “You’re not going to always be able to go by the book, especially on the power play. I think it’s important that we can be a little instinctual and just play hockey.”

That’s been a formula for success in all areas. Dallas was outshot 33-19, saw the Jets hold a 64-45 advantage in shot attempts, and watched Winnipeg dominate in hits, 32-8. But when the game came down to a late power play where the Jets pulled the goalie, the lads in Victory Green were pretty much flawless in keeping the puck away from the home team.

“Probably the best PK of the night, the last one,” said Lindell, who along with Heiskanen played the final 3:40 of the game. “It was just good pressure and simple play. It was effective.”

That’s a good word for this team. The penalty kill was effective, the power play was effective, and DeSmith was effective. This was a huge game against a team the Stars could see in the playoffs, and DeSmith ate up the pressure. He and Jake Oettinger have combined for the fourth best GAA in the league at 2.52 while truly sharing the load.

“It doesn’t matter which one is in the net, I really enjoy playing with them,” said Lindell. “They give us a chance to win every night.”

Mikko Rantanen had three assists, Sam Steel and Oskar Bäck each played more than four minutes on the penalty kill, and Hintz won 10-of-12 faceoffs. It was that kind of night. Thomas Harley returned to the lineup and played 17:32, while Lundkvist and Matt Duchene played their second games after extended injury absences.

But as the Stars head to Minnesota for another huge divisional game against the Wild, everyone knows things can get better.

“We need to improve 5 on 5,” Gulutzan said. “Specialty teams will carry you when you win that battle, especially with the goaltending we’re getting. We’ve got three of the four working, but there is a lot of room to improve 5 on 5.”

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.