Heika’s Take: Stars rally from slow start in second straight night, defeat Predators on road

The process isn’t easy, but the Stars believe it will be more than worth it in the long run.

As Dallas tries to right the ship early in the season, it has gotten down by two goals early in each of the past two games. Thankfully, the lads in Victory Green have found a way to rally each time and claim back-to-back victories to help end a four-game winless skid.

The Stars on Sunday came back on the Nashville Predators, taking a 3-2 win on the strength of a late power play goal from Mikko Rantanen. They stacked that on top of a 3-2 comeback win against Carolina in Dallas on Saturday, and the result is a 5-3-1 record – and a little bit of calm to the storm.

“We were talking about it in there, the guys stayed with it,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “It’s not easy to win on the road being down two, and it’s not easy to win period being down two. Not a great recipe, but you’ll take it. That’s the League now. It’s hard to hold the lead.”

The fact the Stars have been able to do that is a great sign. A squad that has been missing captain Jamie Benn, Nils Lundkvist and Matt Duchene had to deal with even more transition on Sunday. Roope Hintz was sidelined after a high hit against Carolina, while Oskar Bäck played his first game of the season after rehabbing an injury in training camp. The Bäck return proved important, as the lanky forward scored a goal and helped fuel the comeback. The affable Swede was able to work in front of the net and redirect in a pass from Radek Faksa at the 9:36 mark of the second period. It was a huge boost for a Stars team that started slowly and had been frustrated on the power play through their first four opportunities.

By getting a depth goal, the team definitely was able to take a deep breath.

“Big goal by Bäck on his return, that kind of ignited us,” Gulutzan said.

While Bäck said he was just happy to be back on the ice. The 25-year-old who played 73 games last season as a rookie, said he has been working hard in rehab.

“It was great,” Bäck said. “It was so much fun to be back on the ice and be with the guys, go on the road. It’s why we play. It’s been so much fun, so it was great to get the goal and get the win. No better way to get it started.”

Because of the recent injuries, Gulutzan has had to shuffle lines and find chemistry. Bäck played with Faksa and Nathan Bastian. Tyler Seguin jumped into Hintz’s spot on the top line with Sam Steel and Rantanen. And Adam Erne played with Justin Hryckowian and Colin Blackwell.

Just as daunting, the power play had to change, and players like Steel, Hryckowian and Mavrik Bourque found themselves with new roles. Bourque made a perfect pass to Rantanen on a late power play for the game-winning goal midway through the third period. It was a nice moment for a team still seeking its identity.

“It’s important,” Rantanen said. “One-for-five we got today, but the first four we didn’t really generate much. I think their [penalty kill] did a good job. They were pressuring and not letting us enter the zone even. But we stuck with it, no frustration.

Robertson and Johnston stepped up with great puck possession games and combined on the game-tying goal in the second. Meanwhile, Seguin was tough in the faceoff circle on a night when Nashville had early control, and Casey DeSmith stopped 23-of-25 shots to get a big road win.

“We have a ton of talent and when we play our game, we can really dictate our will all over the ice,” DeSmith said. “it’s going to be a tight race, our division is great, so being able to get points against these guys will give us an advantage.”

The Stars are now 4-1-0 against Central teams, and that’s big when you can make the playoffs by being top three in your division. Just as important, the team is stepping up in key moments and learning a lot in the process.

“Sticking with it,” said Rantanen. “The last two games, our last 40 minutes have been good. Obviously, we would like to start a little bit better. We’ll try to work on that, but overall a pretty good last two periods. Earned the win.”

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.