It is no secret that the Dallas Stars have struggled on defense in superstar Miro Heiskanen’s absence. He was placed on long-term injured reserve after suffering an injury on January 28 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Head coach Pete DeBoer announced today that the Stars are now game planning around missing Heiskanen in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Yesterday, DeBoer spoke to the media and provided some cryptic messages regarding the timeline of Heiskanen’s return. When asked if the Stars are going to have to go without him in round one of the NHL playoffs, DeBoer said,
“That’s a realistic possibility,”
While it isn’t a definitive answer, it isn’t encouraging either. Dallas has kept quiet about their number one defenseman’s injury and had originally thought that he would be able to return for game one of the NHL playoffs. It seems as though the team is being cautious in how much they reveal about Heiskanen’s injury, so as to not give too much information away. Regardless, this is a concerning sentiment from the Stars head coach.
It can be assumed that this means Dallas is drawing up strategies to deploy if Heiskanen is unable to return in round one. The easiest thing to do would be to rely on goaltender Jake Oettinger. Oettinger is no stranger to NHL playoff heroics, everyone knows about his infamous playoff series against the Calgary Flames in 2022. The Otter has been struggling as of late though, in part due to a lackluster defensive core.
The second strategy the Stars coaching staff is surely cooking up is a more protective game plan. Being safer with the puck in all three zones is almost a sure bet. To take as much weight off Oettinger as possible, the Stars will need to limit turnovers as much as possible.
Dallas won’t be able to be as aggressive due to forwards needing more than ever to be able to backcheck. This goes for the defenseman as well, who in the past would be able to bite down and be aggressive on loose pucks. Now though, in an effort to give up fewer odd-man rushes, this will likely become a thing of the past for now. It all starts in the defensive zone though, breaking out the puck will be a big point of contention for them. Ensuring that they keep turnovers to a minimum will help cover for their shallow defensive core.
The other option on the complete opposite of the offense is putting all their eggs in one basket. That basket being the offense. Jim Nill didn’t acquire Mikko Rantanen to play defense for 20 minutes a night, so emphasizing simply outscoring and outshooting their opponent could provide good results. The Stars have the talent and depth to overpower their opponents in the offensive zone, which would mean allowing a couple more goals per game wouldn’t be the end of the world.
The Stars’ powerplay has been firing on all cylinders lately. Since February 1, Dallas has ranked second in the league with a powerplay percentage of 34.9%. This is much different from their season percentage of 22.6%, which is good for 15th in the league. This is a good sign, and it will be much needed in the NHL playoffs. Thomas Harley has shown that he can quarterback a powerplay one-line. Heiskanen’s absence has given Harley this chance, and there’s a high likelihood that he will stay on the PP1 when he returns.
Pete DeBoer doesn’t seem optimistic about Heiskanen’s return during round one of the NHL playoffs. This is concerning for fans, myself included. While there has been contradiction about when the Fin will return, the Stars will need him as soon as possible. Playing a fast team like the Avs in round one will be almost impossible with the defensive guys they have right now. If, however, the powerplay can continue their insane run into the playoffs and Oettinger can return to playoff form, it’s hard to count them out.
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