Stankoven Finding His Comfort Zone In Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stars forward doesn't have a goal through five postseason games, but he's contributing in other important ways.

After being called up from the Dallas Stars' AHL development affiliate in Cedar Park, forward Logan Stankoven quickly made the most of his opportunity.

The 21-year-old Kamloops, BC native scored six points in his first four NHL games, finishing the regular season with 14 points (6-8-14) through 24 games.

Stankoven now has five Stanley Cup playoff contests under his belt, and has already proven he isn't at all intimidated by the big stage.

"I wouldn't say it gets any easier," Stankoven said after the Stars' 3-2 Game 5 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday. "I think the competition level gets higher and higher. Basically from here on in, it's a best-of-three, so it was nice to get the win tonight."

While he is still waiting for his first NHL playoff goal, Stankoven has collected two assists, the first coming in Game 1 after forcing a turnover to set up a Jason Robertson goal that cut the Vegas lead to 3-2.

In the first period of Game 5, Stankoven sent a goal mouth pass to Evgenii Dadonov, who went low, then shot the puck top shelf over Golden Knights' goalie Adin Hill to tie the game 1-1.

"I thought he might've been our best player tonight," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said of Stankoven following Game 5. "I thought he was on the puck all night, pounding, moving his feet. Could've had a couple of goals, created a big goal for us."

But what's drawn the most admiration of Stankoven by his teammates is his willingness to go after pucks, no matter the cost. His accurate passing, aggressiveness in puck battles and creating turnovers has demonstrated his fearless, unselfish approach to the game.

"He's so much fun to watch," said forward Wyatt Johnston, who at age 20 is younger than Stankoven but is in his second year in the NHL. "He's won so many puck battles, made some great plays... He's been great and it's been a lot of fun to play with him."

Those puck battles often involve going up against bigger, more physical defensemen. At 5-foot-8, 171 pounds, Stankoven will never be mistaken for a bruiser. Still, he isn't afraid to go after loose pucks, even if it means sacrificing his body.

In Game 4, Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb delivered a crushing hit to Stankoven, flipping him into the air. Stars forward and captain Jamie Benn delivered a similar shot to McNabb a few minutes later, coming to the rookie's defense.

Stankoven took his share of licks playing in the AHL. But NHL defensemen are on a whole different level, and he admits it isn't always easy.

"It's hard sometimes, especially down the wall and stuff, trying to get pucks out," Stankoven said. "You gotta find where the puck is, plus you've got big defensemen coming down on you, so (I) just make heads-up plays, don't try and do anything fancy."

It hasn't hurt that Stankoven is surrounded by great leadership, with veterans like Joe Pavelski, Benn and Matt Duchene to acclimate him to the NHL's big stage. Watching how they prepared for the first-round series against Vegas gave him valuable insight on getting himself mentally ready.

"Just making simple plays, not trying to do anything too crazy too early in the game," Stankoven said prior to Game 1. "Be good on the walls and just do my thing."

Stankoven, who was leading the AHL in scoring before being called up, hasn't scored a goal since March 20 against the Arizona Coyotes, a game in which the Stars won 5-2. He's gotten several good looks in the postseason, but on a team that boasted eight players with at least 20 goals during the regular season, Stankoven isn't expected to be the main guy. His other intangibles are what's kept him in the lineup.

"He's a bulldog on the ice," DeBoer said. "He's fearless, he's relentless. Those are all adjectives coaches are using this time of year. That's what you're looking for."

The Stars as a whole will need to bring those qualities to Game 6 if they hope to wrap up the series Friday in Vegas.

The Stars have loaned Forward Mavrik Bourque back to their AHL development affiliate in Cedar Park. Bourque, 22, was called up following Game 2 of Dallas' first-round playoff series against Vegas after injuries to Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa, but was a healthy scratch for games 3, 4 and five. He will join the Texas Stars for their second-round playoff series against Milwaukee.

The roster move could signal the return of Marchment and/or Faksa for Game 6, although no official word of their condition was given by DeBoer before the team left for Vegas Thursday afternoon.

With his win over the Golden Knights in Game 5 Wednesday, goalie Jake Oettinger became the first Stars goaltender to allow two goals against or fewer in four consecutive playoff starts since Anton Khudobin from Game 3 of the 2020 Conference Finals to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

By scoring the game-winner Wednesday night, forward Jason Robertson picked up his first winning goal in the playoffs.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

Stars Take Control of Series, Beat Vegas 3-2

Could Stars' Top Defensive Prospect Become a Factor In the Playoffs?

For Ty Dellandreea, Patience Finally Pays Off in Game 4 Win

Stars Play Their Cards Right, Win in OT