“No better teammate”: How Dellandrea is rising to the occasion for the Stars

Ty Dellandrea played all 82 games last season and tallied 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists).

Dellandrea played 42 games this season and tallied 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists).

Yet during all of the healthy scratches and emotional struggles this year, the former first-round draft pick was a model teammate. He has supported his friends and waited for his moment to help on the ice. Dellandrea was a healthy scratch for the first two games of the playoffs, but injuries to Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa opened the door for him to play.

And on Monday, the 23-year-old forward was part of a ferocious fourth line and tallied the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights that tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

“There’s no one in here that deserves that more than him,” said good friend and housemate Jake Oettinger. “I live with him, so I’ve been through everything that he’s gone through this year. Some guys carry the way they’re playing on the ice, and you would never know with him. He wants what’s best for the team. He knows when his number is called, he’s going to step up and he’s done that.”

Dellandrea’s routines are noticeable in both energy and diversity among teammates. He’s always on the ice early at morning skates to help Joe Pavelski work on tips and go through his methodical routine of getting his hands ready for each game. He’s always out in pregame warmup helping Tyler Seguin with his one-timers. He always joins Wyatt Johnston in a ritual of “zooming” down the tunnel into the dressing room to get ready for each game.

“He’s a beloved guy in our dressing room, a really popular player and person,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “You can feel the group pulling for him when he jumps in. To his credit, he’s ready. He’s a playoff type character player. He doesn’t shrink in the moment, he’s not afraid of the physical piece of it, so I’m not surprised he’s having an effect on the games.”

He definitely seemed perfect in Game 4. With Vegas intentionally bringing physicality and raising its compete level after losing Game 3, Dellandrea and the fourth line were a great answer. He and Craig Smith each were scratched for Games 1 and 2, but when called upon because of the injuries, both brought fresh legs and energy to the two games in Vegas. The fourth line was given a ton of chances in the first and second periods and responded with some dominating shifts.

On maybe the most important one, the trio was able to trap the Golden Knights in their own zone late in the second period with some fantastic forechecking. Smith got the puck to the right of the goal, whipped a shot into the crease and the puck bounced off Dellandrea and into the net. That ended up being the game-winner and allowed the Stars to lock things down in the third period while protecting the lead.

“When the puck goes to the net, good things happen,” said Smith. “Margins are small out there, a quick stick here, a quick stick there, it changes different plays throughout the game. Whenever we get a chance to chip in, that’s huge.”

Smith patiently waited for his turn, like Dellandrea, and the two are great examples of just how much forward depth the Stars have.

“I can’t say enough about our depth guys stepping in with a couple of injuries,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got three pretty good players out right now in [Jani\] Hakanpää, Faksa and Marchment and guys have not only jumped in, but had an effect on the game. That depth has been great, and you can feel it. It’s been contagious to our group. Those guys are really driving a lot of plays for us, so they have been fantastic.”

Dellandrea is huge in that department. Taken 13th overall in 2018, he helped the Flint Firebirds go from 16 wins to 40 in one season and got the label of “future captain” by scouts. He then churned out 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) in 68 games in the AHL and had a great campaign in his first full NHL season last year.

But Dallas pushed to add depth scoring in the offseason, adding Smith, Sam Steel and Matt Duchene to the trade that brought Evgenii Dadonov last season. Mix in the call-up of AHL standout Logan Stankoven and Dellandrea played in just two of the final 12 regular-season games. That was tough for a guy who really thought he had made the jump to “lineup regular” last season.

Yet Dellandrea didn’t get down. In fact, he blamed himself for the situation and said he had to get better.

“There has been a part of my game where I needed to improve and sharpen over the year,” he said. “A lot of it is on me. I’ve been challenged in that sense to keep growing my game. We’re a deep group and everyone has been playing well, and that’s what I’ve been working for – when the chance comes make sure I’m ready.”

Captain Jamie Benn said Dellandrea’s energy has been noticeable.

“There’s no better teammate than Ty,” Benn said. “We all see what he’s done throughout the year. He works on his game every day and that’s all you can really ask for, a teammate that’s fun to be around and works his ass off - and when he gets his time to play, he goes out there and makes a difference.”

Now, Dellandrea needs to just keep it going. Faksa and Marchment could return from injury at any time, and AHL MVP Mavrik Bourque also is an option to jump in, so the pressure is still there for Dellandrea every game. His housemate believes he’ll handle it well no matter what happens.

“There’s no one that puts the team first more than him,” Oettinger said. “He works his butt off and never has a bad attitude. Everyone wants to win and not everyone is going to have the exact role that he wants, but if you win the championship at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.”

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.