Man was that a fun game last night. Four players scored their first goals of the season for the Dallas Stars, as if the players were tired of hearing narratives about a lack of depth scoring.
We’ll jump straight into the highlights, starting with this beauty by Jason Dickinson to open up the scoring:
We’ve got ourselves a new member of the Hands Team.
Welcome aboard, Jason Dickinson. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hfkiWBfCQ6
— NHL (@NHL) October 26, 2018
Later, Roman Polak surprised practically everyone with a dazzling goal of his own:
🚨 ROMAN POLAK!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/h4SyW68ShJ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 26, 2018
But perhaps the most exhilarating goal was the Stars’ third of the night, where Miro Heiskanen scored the eventual game-winner for his first career NHL goal:
Career goal No. 1 done effortlessly. Miro Heiskanen is something else. #NHLFirsts pic.twitter.com/m6y256YCJH
— NHL (@NHL) October 26, 2018
Mattias Janmark was yet another player to get their first of the season, scoring on a breakaway courtesy of Julius Honka:
That pass was a bit of a strrrrrrrretch. #ANAvsDAL pic.twitter.com/LR8uorZ4dU
— NHL (@NHL) October 26, 2018
And a couple of minutes before the second intermission, Jason Dickinson capped off the scoring with his second of the evening:
We’re all Tyler Pitlick after that Jason Dickinson goal. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/LUj1osNixa
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 26, 2018
Dickinson ended up with the first star of the game, but I think we can all agree Heiskanen walked away with the better prize:
THE COWBOY HAT IS BACK!!! 🤠🤠🤠 pic.twitter.com/DlGgC3u3LG
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 26, 2018
Here’s the Stars’ rookie sensation discussing his first career goal:
Put that puck on the mantle! #GoStars | #NHL pic.twitter.com/19v9o0RULp
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) October 26, 2018
Stars Stories
Count Esa Lindell as one of Heiskanen’s biggest believers:
Every night this season, Esa Lindell turned and told Miro Heiskanen tonight was the night he would score his first goal. He knew he would be right at some point.
“I think anybody that’s not excited for something like that doesn’t belong in hockey.”https://t.co/npTVOI0hdh
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) October 26, 2018
Mike Heika wrote a nice piece about Tyler Pitlick’s (brief) time on the first line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin: [NHL]
As a former player and now coach, Jim Montgomery shares how the NHL has changed its view on head injuries over the years: [SportsDay DFW]
Sean Shapiro talks about Ty Dellandrea and more in his latest mailbag:
Stars Mailbag Vol. 30: Ty Dellandrea and Flint, moving defensemen to forward, and panic? https://t.co/qoiY7aAA8Z
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) October 25, 2018
Central Census
Every team in the Central Division besides the Stars scored exactly four goals last night. I’m not even kidding:
- The Chicago Blackhawks continue their early season success with a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers. [Second City Hockey]
- The Minnesota Wild had a 4-1 victory of their own, giving the Los Angeles Kings their sixth consecutive loss. [NHL]
- Meanwhile the Nashville Predators almost lost, but came back to force the New Jersey Devils into overtime, where they won 4-3. [On the Forecheck]
- Look on the bright side: at least the St. Louis Blues managed to lose, getting blown out 7-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets! [The Cannon]/
On the other hand, does a loss by the Blues really matter with the short-term perspective?
League Links
Biggest news of the day (outside of Heiskanen’s first goal, of course) came courtesy of the NHL commissioner:
Commissioner Bettman upholds 20-game suspension for Capitals’ Tom Wilson.
Complete ruling: https://t.co/auSwCVLHc9 pic.twitter.com/bGu3f04WAu
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 25, 2018
It’s never too early to take a look at next year’s draft class: [The Hockey News]
Detroit Red Wings, meet rock bottom:
How bad are the Red Wings? @Arbys had to lower their threshold for free Curly Fries this season. #NHL https://t.co/MGLoDF5I0C
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 25, 2018
With a new style of play, the Ottawa Senators have surprised everyone so far this season: [Sportsnet]
This piece alone is worth the subscription:
Former NHLer Zach Boychuk probably follows you on Twitter. @CraigCustance found out why: https://t.co/Ib0mr0aX3m
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 25, 2018
Final Finn
In case you guys somehow forgot, I love Miro Heiskanen. Congrats once again to the young Finn!
Miro Heiskanen is the second-youngest defenseman (19 years, 99 days) in franchise history to score a goal and the youngest to do so since the team moved to Dallas. #GoStars pic.twitter.com/tXM8XQTfuL
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 26, 2018