Heika's Take: It's all about the response

Well, that was a pretty good response.

After questioning their execution and intensity in a 5-4 overtime loss in Game 1 on Tuesday, the Stars on Thursday were better in pretty much every aspect of Game 2. Jake Oettinger was solid in goal with 25 saves, the forward lines were balanced and effective, and the defensive details were fantastic. The result was a 4-2 win for the Stars at American Airlines Center that evens their best-of-seven series with the Seattle Kraken at 1-1.

The score didn't really reflect the level of domination. Dallas had a 37-27 advantage in shots on goal, a 67-52 edge in shot attempts and put more than 30 scoring chances against Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer. After Joe Pavelski gave a superhuman individual effort with four goals in Game 1, this was much closer to the Stars we have seen throughout the season.

"Everybody was good," said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. "Game 1, Joe Pavelski was great. I thought we didn't have any passengers tonight."

The game was an interesting study in patience and intensity. Dallas felt it was lacking in both elements in Game 1, so there was a real attempt to come out hard and fast, but also in control. It worked perfectly, as the Stars were the better team in the first period with a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal, but the scoreboard still read 0-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

Then, the balance kicked in. Rookie Wyatt Johnston punched in a rebound off assists from Max Domi and Colin Miller for a 1-0 lead three minutes into the second period. Five minutes later, Evgenii Dadonov was able to slip in a wraparound off passes from Jamie Benn and Ryan Suter, and the score was 2-0.

Seattle cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second period, but then Pavelski scored a power play goal off an assist from Johnston, and the Stars were back in control.

Three goals from three different lines with a couple of assists from two different defensemen . . . that is the formula the team was seeking.

"We looked for a response. I knew we would get one," DeBoer said. "That's our game. We knew we didn't play our game for long enough in the first game, so we wanted to make sure we put in a 60-minute effort tonight. I thought we got that."

Tyler Seguin would add a third period goal off a deflection from a Thomas Harley shot, allowing the depth story line to continue to blossom. Seguin now has five goals in eight playoff games. That's the most he has ever scored in a playoff series. The accomplishment is impressive in a lot of ways, but mostly because he has dealt with several injuries in recent years and has changed his game. The deflection was a beautiful mix of skill and grit and exemplifies the player Seguin is becoming.

"His fifth goal of the playoffs, and all from the same area, the tough parts of the rink around the net," DeBoer said. "That's where you have to go to score in the playoffs, and that's what I'm happiest about. He's going there and he's getting rewarded for going there. He has scored some huge goals for us."

Seguin said it's all part of the team mindset.

"There's pressure and there's opportunity," he said philosophically. "Right now, we're playing with opportunity, and we're excited."

So how did the team restructure after Game 1?

"We made some adjustments," Seguin said. "Now, they're going to go to Seattle and make some adjustments and we've got to be ready. It's going to be a fun series."

Oettinger continues to be a fantastic example of adjusting. The 24-year-old goalie is now 20-1-3 this season after losing a game.

"He's money," DeBoer said. "You just take it for granted, but I knew he would be really great again tonight and good in tough moments. When they're pressing you and on your heels, he makes a slurry of three or four saves, and let us get through that. It's the timeliness of the saves."

Seattle cut the deficit to 4-2 in the third period, but Oettinger closed things down. He said he felt good about his preparation and his execution.

"Every night, I think I have a chance to put my footprint on a game, and it's up to me to step up," he said. "These games are so tight, so you try to make those big saves, key saves."

And if you give up four goals in one game, you find a way to forget it.

"I know this team is never going to give up and we're never out of a game," Oettinger said. "I let in four goals in one period, and we got it to overtime and still had chances to win. So that just shows you how resilient we are. You've got to learn from stuff like that. It could be 2-1, it could be 7-6, you never know what's going to happen, so you've got to brush yourself off."

The Stars did that on Thursday, they have done it all year, but they are hoping to not make a habit of it. Dallas lost Game 3 against Minnesota and once again had to bounce back. However, now that they have set up a pretty good blueprint for how they would like to play, the goal is to bring that to Seattle for Game 3 on Sunday.

"I think this time of year, that's what it's all about," Oettinger said. "The great teams, the ones that have won it all, their records are always crazy after a loss. They brush themselves off, they take the good, and they learn from the bad, and they forget it pretty quickly. These series are long, and that's what it's all about, the response."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Video: DeBoer on the physicality of tonight's game is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter Video: DeBoer on the physicality of tonight's game