In the playoffs, every single play can be a difference maker so even those milliseconds can allow for great opportunity for a talented Dallas roster. In fact, five different Stars players had multi-point performances in Game 4 including Max Domi, who had two goals and one assist. Oliver Bjorkstrand played with Domi in Columbus and commented on how important is to play on time: "like anyone who has skill, you have to find a way to get them off their game so play them tight."
Watch: Youtube Video
##### Two: Leaders Stepping Up
With Jaden Schwartz
set to play his 100th playoff game Thursday
, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on how important the veteran core has been to the Kraken post-season. All four of the assistant captains for Seattle have at least one goal and three of the four (Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde) are in the top four of playoff scoring for the Kraken. There are big compliments that can be said about any of Seattle's leadership group, (Bjorkstrand praised Gourde's ability to set the tone with his intensity in any game), but with Schwartz's milestone upon us, Hakstol was able to reflect a bit more in him specifically after a big two-goal performance in Game 4.
"You can see what kind of an impact player he's been," Hakstol said. "(He's able) to elevate to the intensity of the moment. Everybody loves Schwartzy. He's a really well-liked guy for a good reason - at the core of that is how much they trust him as a teammate and a player. The very best teammate is the one that competes very hard and gets the job done."
##### Three: They Said It
- Dave Hakstol had no update on Daniel Sprong who left Game 3 and did not play in Game 4: "same (status) as yesterday."
- Martin Jones took over for Philipp Grubauer in net in the third period of Game 4. Does the coach expect his post-season starter to bounce back? "I don't know that there's a bad goal there (in Game 4). Grubi's been rock solid for us, he's been better than rock solid. I wanted to get Jonesy in there. The score was stretched out, good opportunity to get Jonesy some minutes. We have all the confidence in the world in Grubi."
- On getting Jared McCann back in the lineup after six games away due to injury: "As you'd expect, his game improved as the game wore on. We look for him to continue doing that. He's an important player for us that fits into a lot of important areas: power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5."
- The Kraken are focusing on managing their energy as they go back and forth between the Pacific Northwest and the Lone Star state. Yes, it's a grind, but for players, this is the best time of year. Grubauer said: "we embrace it, we enjoy it. Everything is so exciting at home too, so we embrace it in the room."
