April 2014 was a different sports time around here. Ron Washington still managed the Rangers. “Dez Caught It” was nine months away from being a fan’s outcry. Monta Ellis played 82 games, one of five Mavericks (including Dirk Nowitzki) to play at least 80 that season — so the fans’ enemy known as load management had not been created.
And then there was a hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., where Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin scored goals in their first postseason game together. The fact that Benn was 24 and already the Dallas Stars’ captain and Seguin was 22 having already hoisted the Stanley Cup in Boston assured that there would be many such games where they shared scoring honors.
Or not.
In Wednesday’s playoff-gone-wild 7-3 victory over Minnesota, Seguin and Benn scored power-play goals early, although that would be overshadowed by Roope Hintz’s hat trick, Miro Heiskanen’s four assists and a fracas filled with 82 minutes in penalties. It was the first time in 10 years together that both Benn and Seguin scored goals in a playoff game at American Airlines Center. In fact, there was just one other game since that auspicious debut in Anaheim — a summer of ‘20 bubble game in Edmonton — in which it happened. So it’s a surprisingly rare occurrence that might need to be revisited if the Stars are to advance beyond the Wild in this first-round series.
While it’s true that Benn, 33, and Seguin, 31, are no longer called upon to lead the way for this franchise — Jason Robertson rewrote the record book with his 109-point regular season — one has to assume that Dallas will continue to be without top center Joe Pavelski for some time. Coach Pete DeBoer acknowledged before Game 2 that Pavelski has been placed in concussion protocol after hitting his head on the ice in a Game 1 collision with Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Pavelski was helped off the ice by a trainer and Mason Marchment, and, given the nature of concussions and the shroud of NHL secrecy, it could be two days or a month before Pavelski is ready to rejoin the squad.
The major injury bumped Seguin back to the first line, a spot that, for most of his 10 seasons in Dallas, he has inhabited successfully, at least in the regular season. The playoffs have never been kind to Seguin. Actually a somewhat disappointing performance by him in the Bruins’ trip to the Cup Final in 2013 helped persuade Boston to deal a 21-year-old with true star potential. His goal against Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury in the first period Wednesday was only his 10th postseason goal as a Star.
It was before the start of this series that the benefits of home-ice advantage for the first round were being discussed.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had it [here], I think I was hurt the last time,” Seguin said.
The 2016 season was the only time a playoff series began at AAC in the last decade. Seguin re-injured his Achilles in the first game against Minnesota and missed the rest of that series and the entirety of the seven-game battle with St. Louis that followed.
But the Stars’ depth at forward figured to be an advantage before this series began, and the Pavelski injury has provided an unwanted test. You would expect the battles to be tougher this weekend in St. Paul where surely the Stars won’t regain the advantage of seeing the 38-year-old Fleury in net again.
Or will they?
Wild coach Dean Evason was defiant about there having been nothing strange at his benching of Filip Gustavsson two nights after the young goaltender set a Wild playoff record with 51 saves in favor of the veteran Fleury for Game 2.
”It’s what we do. We’ve done it all year,” Evason said. “Nothing was on Flower tonight. It was on all of us.”
It might be what they do but it remains inexplicable. Gustavsson had far superior goals against, save percentage and win-loss stats during the season and he was phenomenal in Game 1, stymieing one opportunity after another in overtime, conjuring the ghost of Curtis Joseph against the Stars. Minnesota played poorly in front of Fleury without a doubt, giving up odd-man rushes and breakaways, but that doesn’t change the fact that Fleury surrendered seven goals in 31 shots compared to Gustavsson’s two goals in 53 shots.
Figure the youngster to be back in net Friday night. It’s commonly said that the Stars’ job is to win a game in Minnesota and restore home-ice advantage for Game 5. I’ve never been a big believer in that because, at that point, the series has been reduced to best-of-3 and both teams have lost on their home ice. What’s the advantage?
Just assume it’s going to continue to be a physical battle. The Stars’ power play is perking along at 5-for-11. If Wild players keep going to the box, don’t be surprised if Benn and Seguin keep adding to their points totals.
”When you lose a player like Joe, it’s a great opportunity for other guys to step up,” Benn said, “and it’s something we did from top to bottom.”
