The focus of this series was on one Stars defenseman.
After over three months out of the lineup, Stars fans and the hockey world wondered whether Miro Heiskanen would make his return — and whether it would be the difference in lifting the Stars past the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
Heiskanen impacted the game each night after his Game 4 return against the Winnipeg Jets, both by his play on the ice and by how his limitations led the Stars to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the last three games of the series. He helped set up one of two Stars goals in their 2-1 series-clinching overtime win in Game 6 Saturday night.
But while the focus was on one Stars defenseman’s return and what it could do for the team, the story is another defenseman’s impact — both in the series-deciding game and getting the Stars to this point.
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Thomas Harley sent the Stars back to the Western Conference finals, scoring 93 seconds into overtime during on a power play drawn by Sam Steel. Mason Marchment won a battle on the boards, and Tyler Seguin found Harley alone in the high slot for the game-winner. The Dallas defenseman also assisted on Steel’s second-period goal for a two-point night.
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He now has four goals and seven assists in 13 playoff games.
But Harley sending the Stars to the third round wasn’t all achieved Saturday night. It’s something he’s been fighting for since Jan. 28.
Harley had huge shoes to fill when Heiskanen went down with a knee injury that required surgery midway through the regular season. The Stars’ blue line became quickly depleted, and Harley was given a bigger role, playing upward of 23 minutes a night, including on both the penalty kill and power play.
He rose to the occasion. Before Heiskanen’s injury, he had 23 points in 48 games. After, he had 27 points in his last 30 games of the regular season.
“If there’s an MVP of the second half of the season with what happened with Miro, I think it would have to be him,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “He went to a different level. We piled so much on his shoulders, from running the power play, to playing against other teams’ best players to transitioning the puck, and the kid just keeps delivering and delivering every night.”
Harley was clutch all season, scoring two overtime goals and three total game-winners. But his goal Thursday night was his biggest, and he leapt in the air to celebrate with his teammates near the blue line.
“It was all pretty quick,” Harley said. “I do remember jumping up pretty high. I think I beat my record at training camp with that one.”
Even before Heiskanen’s injury, Harley’s coaches and teammates knew what he was capable of, watching his growth over his last four seasons in Dallas, especially his defensive development, which required nearly a full year in the AHL two seasons ago to achieve.
But the rest of the world saw his ability at just 23 years old when he was rushed to the 4 Nations Face-Off as a late addition to Team Canada, helping lift the nation to the tournament title.
“It’s hard to replace a guy like Miro [Heiskanen], but Tom has done everything,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. “He’s been a workhorse. I think everyone in the locker room knew how good he was but finally got to show it. He got to show everyone just how good he was with the best players in the world. Not surprising to the guys in here.”
The Stars are as healthy as they’ve been since the first month of the season. While they adjusted their lineup again Saturday to limit Heiskanen’s minutes, he finished with 23:40 of ice time, trailing only Harley and Mikko Rantanen. All could be back to normal with a 12-forward, six-defenseman lineup after three full days off before Edmonton arrives for Game 1 Wednesday night.
Harley’s work is still just getting started, set to face two of the top scorers in the league in Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Having a full lineup to seek revenge in the Western Conference finals is something the Stars don’t take for granted — and never would’ve been possible without Harley’s heroics Saturday night and for the months leading up to his series-clinching moment.
“The fact that you have two guys like that on the same team is pretty rare,” Oettinger said of Harley and Heiskanen. “I think every franchise in the league would want to have one of them and we have two, so we’re very lucky.”
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