The top defenseman for the Dallas Stars finally recorded his first point of the season against the Boston Bruins.
After what probably felt like half the season, Dallas Stars top defenseman Miro Heiskanen can finally rest easy knowing he has his first point of the season.
Obviously having only one point in eight games still isn't up to expectations for Heiskanen, but the blue liner can use the Boston game as a jumping off point for the rest of the year. There is no doubt that Heiskanen is one of the best defensemen in the league. His defending speaks for itself but because he is never at the top of the leaderboard in points, he usually does not get much love when it comes to the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL.
Heiskanen was drafted by the Stars as the third overall pick in the 2017 draft. His NHL debut was the 2018-19 season when he played all 82 games and recorded 33 points, and he has been a pillar for the Stars defense since. Over the years, Heiskanen has played on his off-hand side of the ice and with less skilled players like Roman Polak and Ryan Suter. Clearly, none of those factors have hindered his abilities, as he has tallied 259 points in 433 games.
However, last season, the Stars coaching staff caught lightning in a bottle, partnering him with Thomas Harley. Harley and Heiskanen were widely considered one of the top duos in the NHL last year, but Heiskanen still played on his off side. This year, the Stars went out and found him a partner who can play on the right side so Heiskanen can get on his strong side. It's early in the season, and the Heiskanen and Matt Dumba pairing is still in its infancy stage, with Dumba missing time due to injury already. Heiskanen went back to his familiar pairing with Thomas Harley, but also back to the right side of the ice.
The thought - or hope - was that moving Heiskanen to his strong side would make balanced defense parings and possibly unlock more of his offensive talent. Despite having all the ingredients, the success seems to have been delayed with all the factors affecting him this season. Through the first seven games, Heiskanen had not cracked the score sheet with a goal or an assist. In fact, no defender outside of Harley had recorded a point this year.
On the surface, it seems easy to point the finger at the power-play woes for why Heiskanen was scoreless. The Stars were 2-for-21 through the first seven games. Last season, Heiskanen recorded 54 points and 21 of those were on the power-play. However, upon closer inspection, Heiskanen was producing offense but was just not getting rewarded in the points column.
Last night against the Bruins, the Stars power-play finally made an appearance this season, scoring three goals with the extra attacker in one period. Heiskanen got the secondary assist on Jason Robertson's goal.
The Stars weren't concerned about their number one defenseman finding his game, but the fact that he's stopped his drought is something to celebrate. The fact that his one point has still resulted in a 6-2 start is also something to feel fortunate about. A lot of other teams have plenty of individual success but would give it all up to simply win more games. Heiskanen will have plenty of time to catch up on points throughout the season and challenge his career-high of 73 points.
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