The best-laid plans: Stars’ ability to adapt on the fly a critical element to overall success

The words of Robert Burns haunted me this weekend.

Or maybe it was Mike Tyson.

Either way, the teachings of men much smarter than I buzzed around my brain like a Logan Stankoven forecheck.

It was Burns who wrote back in 1785 that the best-laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry in his poem “To a Mouse,” an ode that touched on the unpredictability of life. It was Tyson who said back in the 1980’s that everybody’s got a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth, a boxing strategy that also speaks to the uncertainty of expectations.

Like so many Stars fans this summer and fall, I have been an advocate for specific changes and tweaks to the lineup - playing Miro Heiskanen on his natural left side or making sure that either Stankoven or Wyatt Johnston get a spot on the top line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. Well, I was humbled (and not in an awards show sort of way) when all of those tweaks sort of blew up Saturday and Sunday – and the Stars still found a way to excel.

And it hit me – kind of like the Hockey Almanac hits the Ticket Mouse (inside joke) – that consuming yourself with the intricate details of the game can be a pilates class in futility. To be sure, making good decisions and using strategy to get the most out of your lineup is a huge part of the game. But, honestly, after watching the past two games, so is finding a way to deal with whatever happens. Yes, you want to put your players in the best position, but you also have to understand that often isn’t possible due to reasons outside of your control.

The best-laid schemes, ya know?

So it was when Matt Dumba was injured in the first period of Saturday’s game that the Stars quickly went to a five-man rotation on defense, and everything worked well. Heiskanen slid to the right side and Thomas Harley jumped up on his left. Harley had been playing beside Ilya Lyubushkin in the preseason and the season opener, but he was used to playing beside Heiskanen for most of last season, so the pairing came together quickly. Those two also played with other partners, as did Esa Lindell, and they carried the blueline the way they did in the playoffs last season.

Sure, Chris Tanev is gone, but Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist were able to play 20 and 15 minutes respectively and that was enough to help Jake Oettinger get a shutout in a 3-0 win over the Islanders. Fast forward to Sunday night and free agent Brendan Smith jumped in on defense and played 13 minutes, helping Casey DeSmith get a shutout in a 2-0 win over Seattle. It was the Stars debut for both Smith and DeSmith and showed that Dallas made some solid choices in free agency over the summer.

The Stars have great depth. That has been built in the draft. That has been built in trades. That has been built in coaching and culture that allows Dallas to get the most out of players who come here. One of the reasons for that culture is that a team-first attitude is thick in the dressing room. The old guys embrace it, and it allows them to play a smart, calm game. The young guys embrace it, and it allows them to handle the pressure of the league and stick to what they do best. And the new guys embrace it, and it allows them to fit in quickly.

You look at everything that happened Saturday and Sunday, and this team could have swerved a little bit. The defenseman shuffle, the need to play the new goalie, the fact coach Pete DeBoer decided to put Evgenii Dadonov on the top line and put Stankoven with Jamie Benn and Johnston – there was a lot going on.

But DeBoer pushed the right buttons, and the team responded in the right way.

The head coach is a nice little parable himself this fall. DeBoer had his appendix removed during training camp, had some complications, and missed most of the preseason. His assistant coaches took a bigger role, and Dallas went 5-0-1 in the exhibition slate. DeBoer was back on the bench for the season opener, and the team hasn’t missed a beat.

I talked to GM Jim Nill when the DeBoer surgery was announced, and Nill said it could be a good thing. It was a chance for the assistants to take a bigger role, a chance for the players to see things in a different way, a chance for the entire group to grow. Adversity can be a good thing at the right time, Nill said.

And that’s the point of all of these history lessons. Yes, watch tape and game plan and “scheme,” but also be resilient and have the ability to pivot. Chemistry is real in hockey, but it also is delicate. It can ride on a line for years, as it did with Hintz, Robertson and Joe Pavelski. It can come and go, like it has with Benn and Tyler Seguin. In both cases, the coaching staff has to have a feel for when it’s clicking and when it isn’t. There is value in making the plan and there is value in implementing the plan with a certain finesse.

I like the fact that DeBoer has said in recent days that Hintz and Robertson have a responsibility for driving that line no matter who is on it. They have chemistry, and they need to be able to handle whatever adversity might come their way.

In a perfect world, Dumba will be healthy soon and we’ll be able to see Heiskanen on the left side again. In a perfect world, Mavrik Bourque will be healthy soon and we’ll be able to see his chemistry with Benn and Stankoven. In a perfect world, Johnston will continue his ascent to the top line, take Pavelski’s place, and make that trio one of the best in the league for years to come.

It all looks really good on a dry erase board.

But the Stars know the game isn’t played or won there. They know there is a human element, and sometimes humanity can be just a little messy. That’s why weekends like this past one teach lessons that can be really important.

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 X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.