Dallas Stars win Game 7 on Monday night, but this game was won years ago by the GM

At the 30 minute mark in a scoreless game, every shift of every second carried the weight of an entire season.

For a few, it carried the weight of an entire career.

It was “next goal wins.” As a Game 7 should be.

At the 15:59 mark of the second period, Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz delivered that “next goal wins” game winner when he converted a breakaway to beat Seattle Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer with a clean wrister.

In that moment, the American Airlines Center sounded like old Reunion Arena, which is where the Stars played the last time they hosted a Game 7 they won. That was back in 2000.

The Stars wound up defeating Seattle 2-1 in Game 7 of their second round playoff series on Monday night to advance to the Western Conference final.

“We played really well,” Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen said after the win. “That’s the way we need to play.”

Both sentences are fair and accurate.

The last time the Stars advanced to the West finals wasn’t that long ago. You may forget because no one was there.

The Stars advanced to the West finals in 2020; the “memorable” Bubble Cup playoffs when the NHL hosted the postseason in two “bubble” cities in Canada.

“That was our best team game of the playoffs,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said after he improved to 7-0 in his career in Game 7s.

These Stars will play the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday night in Las Vegas.

Plan your coffee habits accordingly.

Much like their first round series against Minnesota, the Stars moved on against Seattle for the same reason. They’re the better team.

The Game 7 victory they celebrated on Monday night was was won years ago. Not on the ice. In the front office.

It was won by Stars GM Jim Nill, and team owner Tom Gaglardi for giving him the space, money, and time to build a team that can win the Stanley Cup.

Drafting and developing young players like starting goalie Jake Oettinger.

Drafting Heiskanen, who is one of the NHL’s top defenseman. Drafting forward Wyatt Johnston, a first round pick in 2021 who scored the Stars second goal on Monday night.

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“That was definitely one of the better birthday gifts,” said Johnson, who did score the goal on his birthday. He looks 13, and … he may actually be 13. (He’s 20).

Drafting winger Jason Robertson, who has struggled to score goals this postseason but has contributed more offense than he’s been given credit.

Robertson is going through what a lot of talented young players go through early in their playoff career; scoring 5-on-5 in the postseason is not like scoring 5-on-5 in the regular season.

Drafting Hintz in the 2015; he has developed into a top line scorer all the while almost no one has noticed.

Signing veteran free agent forward Joe Pavelski, who looks like he might be 48 but scores the puck like he’s 28.

This version of the Stars can win the Stanley Cup. They are halfway there; they have the perfect build to win their first title since 1999.

Doesn’t mean they will. Vegas is good.

The Stars were the better team in their first two series, and this next round the matchup looks more like a wash.

The NHL salary cap world usually has about five to eight teams that can win the Cup, and the Stars are in that window.

They are here because of the right mix of young legs, talent, and veterans who know what to do.

“I think this year I think we can win it. We have everything,” Oettinger said. “When we play the way we want to play, I think we can beat anyone. You never know when you’re going to get this opportunity.”

All four sentences are fair and accurate.

The Stars are halfway there.