- 15 hours ago
Brien Rea joined the K&C Masterpiece and discussed the Dallas Stars’ playoff outlook and recapped last night’s matchup with the Minnesota Wild. Rea touched on Miro Heiskanen’s injury, emphasized staying disciplined, avoiding unnecessary penalties, and more.
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00:00As we bring on Dow Stars broadcaster, Emmy Award winner, and the man who better pick the stars to beat
00:05the Wild in the playoffs, it is Brian Ray. Good morning, sir.
00:11That's like a veiled threat right off the top, gentlemen. I thought it was pretty straightforward.
00:16He is my co-host.
00:17Yeah, right. It wasn't veiled. It was a Tommy Boy 2x4 to the face. Not so much here, but here.
00:23Exactly. So, I gotta ask this, and I know we're still waiting on information, but are you concerned that the
00:31Stars won the battle last night, but lost the war potentially with the Miro injury?
00:39Concerned, I think, is a fair word when you have players leave with injuries this time of year, and especially
00:45with the injuries Dallas already has piled up.
00:50However, they will skate around 12 noon today, and that will be our next opportunity to chat with Glenn Gullitson,
00:58and I agree with Gulley's demeanor last night where get them looked at, see what the information says, and then
01:07you go from there.
01:08So, concerned is a fair word. When your best player, arguably, or one of your two best players leaves the
01:14game and doesn't return, sure, you want to be concerned three games out from starting the playoffs, but let's let
01:21the information come in, and hopefully we have an update a little bit later today on the Miro situation.
01:27And I know we were all curious, with home ice essentially at stake, did this feel like every bit of
01:35a playoff game that we thought it would?
01:37Oh, totally. Yeah, whether you were at the game or watching the game, look, I was at home watching the
01:45game, and watching it, it was a very interesting game for me, not just because of the home ice thing,
01:51but Minnesota just gave you a clear glimpse as to how they are going to play your first round series.
02:01You know exactly what they are going to do. There are no state secrets. That is the M.O. and
02:08the game plan that is coming for you over the next six or seven games in the first round.
02:14It ain't going to be five, I'll tell you that, over the next six or seven games. That is what's
02:18coming on the other side of the ice. Now you know, and you make the adjustments to deal with it.
02:25And how blessed are we, then, as hockey fans, to be able to get that many games of that potential
02:32between those two?
02:34I'd prefer four.
02:36So would I. If you're going to get through them and you've got to deal with Colorado on the other
02:40side, I don't want to go through six or seven games of that. I'd rather go through four.
02:43But it's so much fun to watch.
02:47Yeah, Colorado's going to dust whoever they're taking on at Nashville in that first round or whatever.
02:52So we'll see what happens.
02:54But from a hockey fan perspective, it's going to be an awesome series.
02:57I think it is going to boil down as the best series of the first round when it's all said
03:03and done.
03:04I really do believe that.
03:05The physicality that I saw Miko play with late in that game, and I feel like he's done this a
03:11lot this season.
03:12And, Kevin, we brought up recently, it looks more like Robertson's kind of grown into this role.
03:18He's like, I'll stick my nose in there and get into some fights and all this.
03:22That started to turn up throughout this season.
03:25And you talked about this, you know, that one degree that Gullitson talks about a lot.
03:30They do look like they are starting to gear up for a physical playoff run.
03:35Yeah, and as you said, that is the attitude and the philosophy that Glenn Gullitson wanted to bring to this
03:42team.
03:43And over the last handful of games, you know, like they won the Calgary game, but they didn't look good
03:48for two periods.
03:49They've had games they've won, but it hasn't looked like the team they want to be entering the playoffs.
03:55You know, the message has been clear that they're focused on the details of themselves and putting themselves in the
04:01right place.
04:01They aren't focused necessarily on the opponent.
04:04But I look at a game like that last night, and I think it can accelerate putting your details in
04:10place,
04:11because you knew that opponent on the other side last night was coming for you with everything,
04:16because Minnesota has to not just tie Dallas, they have to be one point better than Dallas if they wanted
04:22home ice.
04:23So you knew they were coming.
04:25And when you get into a game like that, the adrenaline spikes a little quicker.
04:30The senses get a little more intense.
04:34You know, everything just sort of locks in a little bit quicker when you get into a game like that.
04:39So I do think playing that game against that team, the way that team played that game,
04:47you almost build up scar tissue at an accelerated rate of, okay, now we know what we're in for.
04:53Let's go.
04:54Okay, so that being said, you still have three to play.
04:57And you still need, like, the...
04:59A point.
05:00Yeah, you need something, because this thing is not complete yet.
05:03So how do you get yourself back up for, you know, these opponents, too?
05:07That is going to be a very difficult challenge.
05:11But the bottom line is, Dallas needs two points right now.
05:16They can get them.
05:16However they get them, they get them.
05:18But they do need two points right now.
05:20And Minnesota has a favorable schedule as well in their final three.
05:25I would hope the maturity and the presence of this team with what they've gone through
05:30understands these are three very winnable games.
05:34Well, Buffalo's going to be pretty tough.
05:35That's going to be a bonkers game at the end of the season.
05:38But the Rangers this weekend or in Toronto, both of those games are winnable.
05:43Well, don't dip your toe into the water.
05:46Go get it.
05:48And it's tough to get up for games against non-playoff teams that have nothing to play for.
05:54And the other thing, too, it's not just they have nothing to play for.
05:57They can play so loose.
06:00And they can just throw Hail Mary bombs down the field as many times as they want
06:05because they have nothing to lose.
06:08That can be a tough team to play against because you're so used to playing within a structured
06:13system against the other team on the other side.
06:16So it's similar to the Calgary game.
06:19You're going to have to find a way to activate yourself and say, we need to go get these two
06:24points as soon as we can.
06:26I'd rather not let it linger into a third period, come back in overtime like they did against
06:30Calgary.
06:31But you're going to have to find a way to get yourself to that place.
06:34And we know Dallas can get themselves to that place.
06:38You just would like to see them take care of it in the first period on Saturday against
06:42the Rangers.
06:44I loved the goal from Robertson last night.
06:46It was a Robertson-type goal.
06:48It was beautiful.
06:49But that pass from Essel and Dell was fantastic.
06:52Like his play last night, I thought was awesome.
06:56Yeah.
06:56I mean, you could argue he was the best player on the ice for the Stars with everything he
07:01did.
07:01The one caveat, and I'm going to use Essel and Dell doesn't punch Ryan Hartman in that
07:24scrum, one of those power plays and power play goals is coming off the board.
07:28And that's where Dallas, I think, is going to have to be very careful in this series.
07:34Minnesota is going to start something every single scrum.
07:38They want you to do that.
07:41Don't throw the punch.
07:43Give the face wash.
07:44Grab the collar.
07:45Keep it right at the line because they are trying to get you to throw that punch in those
07:52scrums.
07:52That's the one thing, and I'm using Essel and Dell as an example, but the entire Dallas
07:57Stars team.
07:58That's what you need to be careful of in this series because that's what Minnesota told you.
08:03They showed you everything they're going to do, and they were able to get three power
08:07play goals out of it.
08:08But once that game turned back to five on five and even strength, when Dallas got it
08:13to 3-2, if you watched that game last night, and I know I'm kind of shifting gears on where
08:17your question went on Essel and Dell, but when that game got to 3-2, now Minnesota had to
08:23worry about protecting a lead and not letting Dallas tie it.
08:26What's they're good at?
08:28They're pretty good at, typically.
08:30But it became a five-on-five game.
08:33It was no longer shenanigans after the whistle.
08:36It was no longer goading Dallas into penalties.
08:38Now it was five-on-five hockey.
08:40And Dallas was able to wear them down and get that to the finish line once that game
08:46shifted into five-on-five play.
08:49That's what I look at first in this series.
08:52If Dallas can keep it at five-on-five, it's going to, I think, really benefit them.
08:58And it's going to benefit somebody like Essel and Dell, who has to kill every freaking second
09:03of every freaking penalty the Dallas Stars take unless he's the one taking it.
09:07If you keep it at five-on-five, somebody like him also stays fresh.
09:12How long do you get the sense it usually takes to get a feel for an officiating crew in the
09:18series?
09:18I hear what you're saying, just don't engage in nonsense and hopefully you'll be fine.
09:23But how long do you, let's say they do fall into that trap, how long does it take to get
09:27a feel for, ooh, they're going to call this really tight or not?
09:30Yeah, well, they change the officiating crew every single game.
09:34So you have different referees and different ways the game's being called game-to-game in
09:39a series.
09:39I've always felt for players, like they're so good at this, they should know after playing
09:45the first period what direction the game is going.
09:48They really should.
09:50The tough thing is when you determine how the game is going in the first period and you
09:55adjust to that as a player, and then it changes on you for some reason, that's where things
10:01get frustrating, but players, they're so good at understanding how a game is going to be
10:07called and they can adjust to that.
10:09Usually in the first period, players should know how the game is going to occur.
10:15I am, based on what you've told me about what Minnesota's plan is, and I don't know
10:21if you've seen it, but I suggest everybody go out and watch the season finale of Shorzy
10:25and how the North American hockey team went after the European group.
10:30Set the tone.
10:31Yeah, wear them out for two periods and then try and get your goals in the third.
10:35I think Minnesota's going to be like, we're just going to wear you out, engage in all
10:38the shenanigans, we're going to get you when the referee's not looking kind of stuff.
10:42Should they also have potentially problematic thoughts about women's hockey?
10:48That's right, I'm aware of that part of the show.
10:50It's a very fun show.
10:53That's the one thing I keep seeing over and over is, as he's saying, don't engage in the
10:57shenanigans.
10:58Those are the things that they waste your energy, as well as put you in a place, in the box
11:03or in a place where you're in a little bit of extra trouble that you don't need to be
11:06in.
11:07But I think I can't wait for this series now at this point.
11:11No, it's going to be an excellent series.
11:12And by the way, every time somebody brings up Shorzy, I just have to all of a sudden go,
11:16for what?
11:17Yeah, because that might be my favorite line in the entire series.
11:21Yes.
11:25But it's not that you necessarily have to wait it out and get your goals in the third
11:30period.
11:31It's more, keep the game at five on five.
11:33If Dallas doesn't take those early penalties, you're not spotting Minnesota that early lead.
11:40And Dallas even got the first goal last time.
11:42They scored the first goal, and then you take the penalties, and Minnesota finds a way to
11:47get themselves on top and ultimately push it to 3-1.
11:50And it's really hard, because the Stars are not going to back down.
11:56They're not going to be pushed around.
11:58They've talked about that.
12:00And even Glenn Gullivan has talked about the hand-to-hand combat of a playoff series.
12:04And the Florida Panthers have been the example, because they've won the last two Stanley Cups.
12:08They might have been the best team in the NHL of knowing where the line is, taking you all
12:15the way to the line, and then letting you cross it, and they turn away.
12:20They have been the best at that in the playoffs the last two years.
12:24And I think that's a similar direction that Minnesota is going to try and play this game,
12:30because I do believe at 5-on-5, Dallas is still the deeper team and still a little bit ahead
12:38of them.
12:39And then when you look at advanced metrics and the numbers there, Dallas has better numbers
12:44at 5-on-5 than Minnesota does.
12:46But Minnesota's power play this year is just as lethal as the Stars has been, especially
12:52adding Quinn Hughes.
12:54The power play is now a true weapon for Minnesota, and you learned that the hard way last night.
13:00That is an area where I think they can even up the series with the Stars.
13:04But we have the best Hughes, Kevin.
13:06We have Cameron Hughes.
13:07Oh, goal scorer!
13:09Well done.
13:10I like that.
13:11By the way, I just got to say, how awesome are hockey smiles?
13:15Did you see any photos on social media after he scored that goal?
13:19Yeah.
13:21Like Jack Hughes, when he scored the gold medal, that was a great hockey smile.
13:25Cameron Hughes went, hold my beer.
13:26That is an awesome hockey smile.
13:29I love that.
13:30Now, I realize what the points and the numbers say.
13:34I want to put that to the side for just a second.
13:37Will the Dallas Stars have to beat the best two teams in the West just to make it to the
13:42Western Conference Finals?
13:45Yes, they will.
13:47I don't see any way how Nashville or whoever ends up in that wild card spot is going to beat
13:53Colorado.
13:54I really don't.
13:56So, yes, Dallas will have to go through Minnesota.
13:59They will have to go through Colorado if they're going to get back to the Western Conference Finals.
14:03And do you think Colorado is primed to fall because they fell into the trap of probably winning the Presidents?
14:10Yeah, well, they won it last night, so they have the kiss of death.
14:13They're done, suckers.
14:15Look, I also believe if there is one team in the West that can beat Colorado, it is Dallas.
14:27I don't know about Vegas or Edmonton because I think one of those two teams is ultimately going to get
14:34to the conference final on that side of the bracket.
14:36You know, if Colorado somehow gets to the conference final and they're that banged up, maybe that opens the door.
14:43But just right now, today, when you look at all the teams that are lined up, if you had to
14:49pick one that was best set to knock off Colorado, I do believe it's Dallas.
14:55Appreciate the time, as always, good sir.
14:57We'll probably catch up with you again next week before that series officially kicks off.
15:02It's going to be fun.
15:03I love it.
15:04It's going to be fun for a lot.
15:06Thank you very much, Brian Ray, right here on 105 Through the Fan.
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