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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Esa Good Day

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

As the shot count climbed toward triple digits, John Klingberg threw the series-ending javelin. The Dallas Stars have dispatched the Nashville Predators, and now they face their old nemesis, the St. Louis Blues, in a division final that promises to be fraught with challenge.

But now, we celebrate. Sean Shapiro broke it down in what may be his happiest 20/20 of the year over at The Athletic DFW:

It could have been frustrating, and at times it was. But the Stars were encouraged by their play. They were attacking with waves, they were the better team, and eventually, Klingberg’s dagger proved it.

“You just stick with it, keep throwing pucks at the net,” Benn said. “I think we all know what overtime is like, anything can happen. You never know, the craziest things that can happen — bounces, whatever — just keep throwing pucks at the net and Kling made a great shot.”

Sean also brings another astonishing batch of stats for another Stars defenseman. It was another big night for Miro Heiskanen, and in other news, water is wet:

When [Heiskanen] wins a Norris Trophy someday, voters will look back at this series as the moment they realized just how good the Finn was.

In Game 6 Heiskanen played a game-high 32 minutes, 25 seconds. He played more minutes than any other player in this series, 159 minutes and 10 seconds. He’s second in the league in total ice time throughout the first round. He’s still 19 years old.

Remember “culture of mediocrity”? Head coach Jim Montgomery has struggled at times this season, but he left the Stars with one directive yesterday at practice:

After morning skate, Montgomery sent a straight-forward message when the team met at center ice.

“Leave no f***ing doubt tonight,” Montgomery told the team.

There’s much more behind the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]

Stars Stuff: Second Round Edition

The best surprise is no surprise. The Stars’ penalty kill came up flawless throughout the first round.

Did P.K. Subban make a strategic error before the game began?

A little more history = just another night for Miro.

Josh Bogorad and Razor looked as if they didn’t want to leave the AAC.

They were probably just watching this on repeat.

Klinger breaks down his game-winner.

And Anton Khudobin turns out to be A Good Guy In The Room, yet again.

He’s a good guy on the ice in more ways than one, too.

Clearly, Dak and Zeke are the anti-Romos and therefore must attend every home game for the rest of the playoffs.

Let’s just have a moment.

Mike McKenna may be the only person who’s rooting for Jason Dickinson and Roope Hintz more than you are.

Around The League(s): Game 7 Edition

Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen were The Man as the Carolina Hurricanes bounced back to take Game 6 from the Washington Capitals, 5-2.

At least Alex Ovechkin doesn’t have to go back to Raleigh for Game 7.

Two more series will end tonight, and the off-ice maneuvering has already begun:

The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Boston Bruins in the Garden amid Bruce Cassidy’s concerns about inappropriate contact.

The San Jose Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights, and I’m pretty sure there’s a “No, you shut up” on the way.

Meanwhile, in Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jets begin the Agonizing Reappraisal phase of post-playoffs mourning.

I’ll just leave this here.

Greetings From Beautiful Boise

The Idaho Steelheads advanced to the Kelly Cup Mountain Division Final on Sunday. Here’s what the home schedule will look like, depending on whether their next opponent will be the Tulsa Oilers (St. Louis Blues) or the Kansas City Mavericks (Calgary Flames).

Finally

When you’ve aced the fundies, the only thing left to do is an extra-greasy diss track. The On The Bench crew name-checks everyone from Jack Eichel and Johnny Gaudreau to Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn in their new video (and single), Low Cheese Missy. Enjoy.

Talking Points