Harley's Power-Play Night: Three Points, Three Man-Advantage Goals, and the Stars Hold Off the Sharks 4-3

By Nolan Frost, RF Sports Radio Stars voice

Stars Nation, Miro Heiskanen sat again on Saturday night, and Thomas Harley made sure nobody spent the night worrying about it. Harley had a goal and two assists, all on the power play, and Dallas held on for a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center.

The facts

Per NHL.com, San Jose went up 1-0 on Michael Misa's goal at 7:22 of the first. Roope Hintz tied it on a 4-on-3 power play at 9:16, cleaning up a rebound after Wyatt Johnston tipped a Harley shot. Jamie Benn made it 2-1 at 15:17 for the 999th point of his career, and Jason Robertson scored on the power play at 16:51 off a cross-ice feed from Mikko Rantanen. Ivar Stenberg cut it to 3-2 early in the second, Harley one-timed a power-play goal at 14:30 for a 4-2 lead, and Will Smith scored on a 5-on-3 at 17:02. Nobody scored in the third.

Jake Oettinger made 20 saves. Rantanen and Johnston had two assists each, and Rantanen extended his point streak to five games. Macklin Celebrini had three assists for San Jose, which has lost five straight. Dallas is 10-5-2.

Per Mike Heika of DallasStars.com, Dallas scored three power-play goals and killed five of six penalties. Harley played 6:23 on the power play and 3:34 on the penalty kill after entering the game averaging one minute a night on the man advantage, compared with 3:37 for Heiskanen. Glen Gulutzan said Harley "likes to shoot the puck," adding, "Miro would be the opposite." Harley's version: "Most of my job is passing left or passing right, and the other guys make it look good." Heiskanen is listed as day to day, and the Stars have four days off before hosting Winnipeg on Thursday. "This little break comes at a good time," Gulutzan said.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this is why the Stars paid Harley. Two seasons ago he ran this team's blue line for 32 games, and on Saturday he slid into Heiskanen's power-play chair and changed how the unit attacks. A shooter at the top instead of a distributor gives opponents a different problem, and three power-play goals say it worked.

The part I did not love was the second period. Going from 4-2 to 4-3 on a 5-on-3 against a team that had lost four straight is the kind of discipline issue that costs you against Winnipeg. The penalty kill bailed them out, and it is first in the league for a reason, but it should not have to.

Benn sitting on 999 points is the storyline for Thursday. Only Mike Modano has reached 1,000 points with this franchise. The captain is playing his best hockey of the season on a line with Rantanen and Johnston, and he deserves to get it at home.

Opinion: rest Heiskanen all four days if needed. Harley has bought the time.

What to watch next

Watch this week's practice reports for Heiskanen's status and Benn's chase for 1,000 points against Winnipeg on Thursday. For Saturday's pregame preview, read our Nov. 7 pregame preview, and follow every game on our Dallas Stars page.

Radio question: after three power-play points Saturday, should Thomas Harley keep the top power-play job even when Heiskanen returns?

Sources: NHL.com - Harley has three points, Stars hand Sharks fifth straight loss; DallasStars.com - Heika's Take: Special teams power Stars to 4-3 win; NHL.com - NHL Status Report, Nov. 7; NHL.com - Official playing roster, Sharks at Stars.