Heika's Take: Dallas displays resilience during loss to Minnesota

The Stars lost Game 1 in double overtime and lost veteran leader Joe Pavelski to injury, but they believe they can rebound in their First Round playoff series with the Minnesota Wild.
Ryan Hartman was able to pounce on a loose puck and flip in the game-winner at 12:20 of the second overtime to forge a 3-2 win at American Airlines Center, and that became one of the biggest moments of the game. However, Pavelski left the game in the second period after a hit by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, and that also became a major part of the evening.

"Joe is okay," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "Obviously, he's banged up. He hit his head on the ice."

When asked if Pavelski could be considered "okay for Game 2," DeBoer said it was far too early to tell.
"No, I'm not confident for Game 2," DeBoer said. "He's okay. He's walking out of the rink on his own."
If the Stars have to play any games without Pavelski, they showed on Monday that they certainly can do that. Dallas started the game slow and got behind 1-0 in the first period. They then rallied with two power play goals and watched the game get tied on a breakaway after two periods. Dallas then played its best hockey in the third period and overtime, but still couldn't find a way to score again.
"If there is one thing I would really like to clean up, it's our start to the game," DeBoer said of a first period in which they were outshot 10-5. "We were standing around for the first 30 minutes, took some penalties. It was uncharacteristic stuff."
Dallas finished the game with a 54-48 advantage in shots on goal and a 115-84 edge in shot attempts. A lot of that came in overtime, where the Stars outshot the Wild, 26-12. A litany of players had a chance to end the game, including Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson and Max Domi. Either Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson came up with a big save or Dallas hit a post or shot wide or high.
"It wasn't like we didn't create offensive opportunities," DeBoer said. "We had chances to score."
That fuels the team's confidence as it heads to Game 2 at home on Wednesday. Despite losing Pavelski in the second period, the Stars rotated forward groups and still found a way to create a ton of chemistry.
"We'll regroup and build on that, for sure," Domi said.

One of the good signs was how the team reacted to the hit on Pavelski. It was originally announced that Dumba would receive a five-minute major penalty. However, officials reviewed the play and took away the major, instead making it matching minors because Domi fought Dumba. This meant instead of a five minute power play for a team who had already scored twice with the man advantage, Dallas got no power play and lost a key player.
"I thought we started to wear them down a little bit," DeBoer said. "Even one man short, I thought we were coming over the bench with a lot of energy and putting a lot of pressure on them. I thought our forwards rallied pretty well."
DeBoer said he understands the decision by the officials to change the call.
"We have the best officials in the world," DeBoer said. "They called a five, then reviewed it, which is the right thing to do. If they reviewed it and decided it wasn't a bad hit, it's not for me to argue with that. They got to look at it from multiple angles, and that was the decision they made. So, we've got to live with that."
Domi too said the team has to respect the call, but goalie Jake Oettinger said he felt it was a bad hit.
"I haven't seen it closely, but from what I saw it looked like a major penalty," Oettinger said. "I'll look at it and I don't think my opinion is going to change. It's tough to lose your leader like that on a cheap shot like that."

Still, everyone was proud with how the team responded.
"It can go either way," DeBoer said. "It can rattle your group or you can rally around it. And I thought we rallied around it. I think the guys wanted to win the game for Joe."
Oettinger said he could feel the team getting better as the game went on.
"I'm just proud of the effort the guys gave," Oettinger said. "Losing Pavs and bouncing back like that, that shows the guys we have in that room."
When asked again about the potential frustration with the officiating, DeBoer said the team has to rise above those things.
"That's not why we lost the game tonight," DeBoer said. "I think we've got to regroup and get ready for Game 2. That's playoff hockey. You've got to deal with all kinds of adversity, whether it's a missed call or a bounce in overtime or a post that didn't bounce your way. Those are things you have to deal with."
And they will try to do just that in Game 2.
"We're going to flush it and move on pretty quick," Oettinger said. "Everyone wants to get back here for Game 2."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika