Heika’s Take: Unlikely heroes emerge as Stars pick up point in shootout loss to Panthers

The Stars were involved in a gritty, grimy hockey game on Saturday, and that, in itself, was an accomplishment.

Yes, Dallas lost 4-3 in a shootout to the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, but the Stars also stood toe-to-toe in a game that had plenty of dirt on the puck.

“It was gritty wall battles, and both sides were fighting over inches out there,” said forward Sam Steel, who finished with three assists. “But that’s the game we expected and wanted. We need to keep building on that.”

The Panthers are known as one of the toughest teams in hockey, and they showed that with a style of play that was methodical but combative. Florida (6-5-1) had a 28-22 advantage in shots on goal, a 66-43 edge in shot attempts, and a 26-21 win in the battle of hits. They built a 2-0 lead early in the second period and seemed to have the game under control.

But then unlikely heroes Justin Hryckowian and Steel helped spearhead a ferocious comeback, and the game was up for grabs the rest of the way.

Hryckowian, a free agent signing out of Northeastern in 2024, has been working hard to earn minutes in the absence of Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz, and Matt Duchene, and showed why he is getting those chances on Saturday. The scrappy forward was battling against Florida’s Seth Jones in the corner and was high-sticked in the face. That earned a four-minute power play for the Stars while Hryckowian went to the dressing room to get repaired.

Hryckowian had to get the blood cleaned off his jersey, but the irony is that blood also had to be cleaned off the ice. So as the ice crew doctored the rink, Hryckowian was able to get back in time to take his shift on the second power play unit.

Wyatt Johnston scored on the first man advantage, converting on a terrific pass from Steel for his seventh goal of the season. Then, Hryckowian scored his first NHL goal 14 seconds later, tipping in a Thomas Harley shot for a memorable all-around moment.

“That felt good,” Hryckowian said.

Gulutzan said he knew the 24-year-old would be available, despite the damage to his nose.

“I don’t think you could have gotten him off,” Gulutzan said. “He knew he was on that second unit, so he’s not going to go get stitches until he’s done. Good for him. He took the high stick and then he scored the goal.”

That pretty much changed the momentum of the game. The two teams battled in the third and Florida’s Sam Bennett gave his team the lead 12 minutes in. However, Dallas fought back once again and Steel picked up his third assist of the night, setting up Mikko Rantanen for his fifth goal of the season with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. It was just the second three-point night of Steel’s career and first since 2019.

“Mikko is coming around the net and you just put it anywhere in his vicinity and he has a chance,” Steel said.

The Stars were outplayed by Tampa Bay in an overtime loss on Thursday, but they had the better of the chances against Florida in 3-on-3 play on Saturday. Tyler Seguin won a key faceoff and Dallas outshot Florida 5-3 in OT, with another puck hitting a post.

That led to the shootout, and only Florida’s Brad Marchant scored to drop Dallas to 6-3-3 on the year. Both Rantanen and Seguin rang iron in the shootout, but neither found the net.

“3 on 3, I thought we looked pretty good,” Gulutzan said. “We had the better of the chances. That’s the way it goes, a couple off the post and that’s the game.”

As Dallas fights through the injuries and the challenges of becoming a “new” team under a new coaching staff, there are some good signs of progress. Not only are players like Hryckowian and Steel contributing more, but forwards such as Adam Erne and Oskar Bäck also have taken advantage of extra opportunities in recent games.

“He works, puts his nose to the grindstone, comes to the rink every day with a good attitude,” Steel said of Hryckowian. “He’s earned every opportunity he’s getting, and he’s getting more and more as we go. It’s awesome to see him get one.”

A memory that sort of makes the game a win no matter what the scoreboard may say.

“It’s been great, just learning how to be an NHLer,” Hryckowian said. “It’s a great group to be around. There are obviously ups and downs and you take it with a grain of salt and keep growing my game and keep contributing in as many ways as possible.”

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.