Miro Heiskanen had his first game back on Tuesday after an eleven game absence due to mononucleosis. The expectation was to pay him in “limited” minutes (15-16), but he ended up with 19:56 in ice time:
“He wanted to play more,” [head coach Rick] Bowness said. “We were holding him back. It was a couple of minutes more than we wanted, but he kept telling us, ‘I feel great, I feel great.’ He wanted more ice time, but we’ve been told to watch the minutes.
Heiskanen obviously wasn’t back to 100%, but it sure didn’t look like it — though he was held off the scoresheet, he was one of the most impactful players in the team’s 3-2 win:
“He’s probably our best player still, he’s huge for us,” said forward Tyler Seguin of the impact of a less-than-100 percent Heiskanen. “When you’re back in your own end and the puck is there and Miro’s got it, you’ve got a certain kind of confidence in your head. You’re not putting anyone else down, but when he’s got it, you’re moving maybe sometimes to different areas, just because he has that vision.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Heiskanen and the rest of the Stars will be taking on the Anaheim Ducks again tonight:
Round ✌
Late night with the Stars in Anaheim 🌃
🆚 Anaheim Ducks
⏰ 9:00pm
📍 Honda Center
📺 @BallySportsSW
📻 @DFWTicket@Toyota | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/INhXjQUaWi— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 31, 2022
This, uhh, would certainly be a lineup choice the Stars could make:
Looks like Denis Gurianov may be a scratch. We’ll see tomorrow.
From practice today:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Studenic-Seguin-Namestnikov
Peterson-Benn-Radulov
Raffl-Glendening-Faksa
Kiviranta, GurianovSuter-Harley*
Sekera*-Klingberg
Hanley-HakanpaaOettinger
Wedgewood— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) March 30, 2022
Around the League
It was a good Wednesday night for the Central Division:
- It required a shootout, but the Winnipeg Jets prevailed over the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
- In another close game, the St. Louis Blues edge out the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. [Nucks Misconduct]
- Finally, the Arizona Coyotes laid a 5-2 smackdown on the San Jose Sharks. [Five For Howling]/
Unfortunately for the Coyotes, the win came at a cost, as Clayton Keller will be out for the remainder of the season:
Coyotes star Clayton Keller says he’ll be out for the rest of the season, but plans to be ready for the start of the 2022-23 campaign after being taken off the ice on a stretcher during a game against the Sharks.https://t.co/v6cXa5IY26
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 31, 2022
Heiskanen and the Stars get a little love in Dom Luszczyszyn’s latest 16 stats:
The field of contending teams for the Stanley Cup is a little larger than normally expected for this season.@domluszczyszyn thinks that’s a good thing ⤵️https://t.co/wolJFvQEay
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) March 31, 2022
The OHL Cup is back! Here’s who to keep an eye out for:
The @OHLHockey Cup is back after a two-year hiatus, and there’s an abundance of future stars playing in one of the biggest minor hockey events of the year.
Here’s @StevenEllisTHN’s 15 names to watch: https://t.co/AT9qURdsmI
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) March 30, 2022
The NHL Rules Court takes a crack at some new suggestions, some of which are very… interesting:
Everyone please rise, NHL Rules Court is back in session.
From eliminating shootouts to icing on the penalty kill,
you sent in your proposed NHL rule changes. A jury of @seangentille, @ian_mendes and @DownGoesBrown will now deliver the verdict ⤵️https://t.co/R9V9zScYr1— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) March 30, 2022
Finally, Elliotte Friedman talks Eugene Melynk and more in his latest 32 Thoughts:
With the passing of Eugene Melnyk, @FriedgeHNIC writes about the legacy of the late Ottawa Senators owner, plus takes a look at the biggest issues coming out of the GMs meetings in 32 Thoughts.
Presented by @GMCcanadahttps://t.co/QrgIWT0jrg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 31, 2022