Heika’s Take: Stars stand tall against Kraken, grab 2-1 win to sweep back-to-back

There’s a lot that goes into a hockey team being able to win on back-to-back nights.

Good goaltending. Lineup depth. Simple, smart play. It’s a combination the Stars seem to have down, and Sunday was just another example of why.

Casey DeSmith stopped 30 shots, Tyler Seguin and Wyatt Johnston came up with key goals, and the Stars’ penalty kill went 3-for-3 at American Airlines Center en route to a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken.

“I thought he was outstanding tonight and made some big saves,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said of DeSmith. “Certainly, he would be our first star.”

But the coach added that there was a lot working as the team flew in from a game in Nashville on Saturday, and then established a smart game plan back on home ice.

“I really liked our penalty kill, guys sacrificing there, blocking shots. Ilya Lybushkin, Colin Blackwell trying to get the job done and push it over the line,” Gulutzan said.

As it has been for much of this season, the lads in Victory Green had to navigate pushes and pulls in this game. Seattle won in St. Louis Saturday, so they also had challenges. And when the Kraken scored three minutes into the game, Dallas could have easily folded. But Johnston scored on a power play a minute later, and Seguin converted a breakaway into a beautiful goal in the final minute of the first period – and that turned out to be the final score.

Seattle put a big push on in the second period, outshooting Dallas 15-7 in the middle frame. But DeSmith was incredible and his acrobatic performance seemed to fuel his confidence.

“It felt great. Every win feels great,” DeSmith said. “There are no bad teams in this league. Every game is hard, and you have to earn it. Thankfully, we got four points on the weekend in another back-to-back. That’s great.”

Dallas is now 9-4-3 on the year, and has points in nine of the past 10 games (6-1-3). That’s an accomplishment for a squad under a new coaching staff and missing several key players to injury.

“We’re finding ways to get points different ways – 1-0, or high-scoring games,” said Seguin. “But we’ll take the 2-1 game.”

There are games within the game, and Gulutzan said he likes what the team is doing on a game-to-game basis. The team was beaten by a speedy Anaheim team on Thursday, found a way to rally against a more veteran group in Nashville, and then simply stood their ground on Sunday. Miro Heiskanen had two more assists, Mikko Rantanen put six shots on goal, Roope Hintz won 9-of-10 faceoffs. Esa Lindell logged some rare minutes on the power play, while Lyubushkin, Blackwell and Sam Steel were big on the penalty kill.

“I thought our game in Nashville we were good, and even Anaheim I thought there were some real signs there,” Gulutzan said. “This is the one where I thought we just started to slow down a little bit. We’re playing better but you’re always pushing for more.”

The Stars will have another challenge ahead. They fly to Ottawa on Monday and play at the Senators on Tuesday. They then move on to Montreal on Thursday. Matt Duchene is not ready to return from his injury and will not be on the trip. Jamie Benn will travel after being on the shelf since the preseason with a punctured lung. He’s also not ready to play, but is making strides by getting back in the routine.

And while the challenge of back-to-back is easy to measure, Gulutzan said the challenge is different for every game.

“It’s not really the back-to-backs that concern me, it’s these three in four nights,” Gulutzan said. “I could tell for the first time tonight that we started to look a little bit fatigued.”

How do they then handle four games in six nights?

“You know what, I’m waking up every day and trying to have fun no matter what,” Seguin said. “Wins, losses, tough travel, tough schedule right now, just trying to enjoy it all and I think that’s the secret sometimes.”

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.