Blocking shots is an aspect every team needs to do in order to have success in the NHL playoffs. The Dallas Stars certainly know that and are one of the best teams at helping out their goalie.

Dallas’ fearless commitment to shot blocking has been on full display in the playoffs, and it helped lead them to a Game 2 victory to even up the Western Conference Final. This is a huge part of Dallas’ DNA and a factor in their success in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Stars weren’t necessarily in a ‘must-win’ situation heading into Game 2 last night at home. However, going down 2-0 in the series before heading to a rough and rowdy Oil Country out in Edmonton, Alberta would have put them in an early hole in the West Finals.

Dallas didn’t allow that hole to be dug any further as Mason Marchment’s redirection at 3:41 into the third period proved to be the game-winner.

The Stars' shot-blocking prowess kicked in after allowing a playoff-high 16 shots in a single period to the Oilers last night. They limited them to 13 shots for the rest of the game, and only five shots in the third period while they defended their 2-1 lead. The shot blocks for Game 2 finished in a large discrepancy, 22-9 in favor of Dallas.

Throughout these playoffs, Dallas has brought back to light just how important it is to block shots at the toughest time of the year. They have recorded the most blocked shots in the playoffs with 330 and rank first among the remaining four teams in blocked shots per 60 minutes with 20.21.

In the 2024 playoffs, the Stars' top four defensemen — Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, and Chris Tanev — are all in the top six for most shot blocks. Only New York Rangers’ Jacob Trouba (ranks second) and Edmonton’s Vincent Desharnais (ranks fourth) are in that top six. Tanev leads all players with 60 blocks and is proving to be one of the best trade deadline acquisitions from this season.

And it’s not just the defensemen doing all the shot blocking. When filtering for just blocks by forwards, Dallas has three of them in the top 10, and those players aren’t their bottom six role guys, it’s their top players — Jason Robertson, Matt Duchene, and Joe Pavelski.

The Vegas Golden Knights showcased the importance of putting your body on the line for the team en route to their Stanley Cup win, leading the 2023 playoffs with 450 blocked shots. That was 104 more than second-place Florida.

In the first round of the playoffs this year, Dallas had the tough task of facing Vegas. However, they put in the effort to not be out-blocked by the reigning champs and ended up beating them in the shot blocks department for the series, 141-134.

The Stars have recorded 20 or more blocked shots in 10 out of their 15 playoff games and regularly win in that stat category every night. Even going back to the 2020 COVID-19 playoff bubble where Dallas went to the final, they finished the playoffs with the most shot blocks (485) and blocked shots per 60 minutes (17.23) that year.

The leader in blocked shots in those 2020 playoffs was none other than Dallas’ shutdown defenseman, Esa Lindell. Also, Chris Tanev, who played for the Vancouver Canucks, finished fifth in blocked shots, and fourth in blocked shots per 60 minutes when filtered by a minimum of 10 games played.

The Stars know what it takes to get the job done in the playoffs and they are proving that with their courage and heroism to throw their bodies into the shooting lanes by doing whatever it takes to secure the win.