Roope Hintz has been one of the best players in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. Hintz has collected 4+4 performances in four matches and cools the point exchange with third place.
Above are only Toronto Mitchell Marner (2+8) and Edmonton Leon Draisaitl (5+4).
The series between Dallas and Minnesota represented by Hintz is at 2-2. Stars took an important 3–2 victory at the end of the week under the leadership of Hintz: the Finn was starting every goal of his team.
Earlier in the series, Hintz got the first hat trick of his career in the playoffs. In the two winning matches, he has been involved in no less than seven of Dallas’ ten goals.
Hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen has closely followed Hintz’s brilliance. In particular, he praises the Tampere’s skating skills.
– With a huge difference in speed and good rhythm, he is able to make plays continuously. Roope is a player who does everything that is required of a leading player in the playoffs, says Lehkonen.
– In the case of Dallas, the question now is how to get others on board this train.
Listen to the latest episode of the Ika änäri podcast, which talks about the magic and curse of the first round of the NHL playoffs:
One is out of the crowd
The spring of Dallas and Hintz cannot be covered without talking From Joe Pavelski. The Yankee striker was injured in the opening game of the series by a defender Matt Dumban after a hard tackle. At the same time, one of the NHL’s most dangerous chains in recent years broke.
Hintzin, Pavelski and by Jason Robertson formed by the first team scored more goals (52) in the regular season than any other trio in the league. Last season, there were one fewer goals, which was the third most in the NHL.
Pavelski, now known as the best goal-scoring player in the series, is missing, which cannot be unseen when playing in the top chain.
According to Lehkonen, Pavelski’s strengths are especially in the so-called give and go playing, where after the pass the player’s movement continues immediately.
– Through Pavelski, a certain kind of continuity started in creating goalscoring opportunities. He is good in front of goal, but also an excellent small space give-and-go player. His Offerings are excellent even when guarded. He dares to make small one-and-a-half meter moves even in tight spaces, Lehkonen opens.
31-year-old Canadian center Tyler Seguin has replaced Pavelski in the chain.
– Young Seguin was a path machine like Roope, but this older version is no longer the same soap. He is a good and smart player and scores here and there, but the way that chain plays has changed. Seguin is not a player who wrestles with the goal all the time, so Robertson in particular now has to think a little about his own play, Lehkonen reflects.
Superior solutions
Playing the new thread has at least not taken off yet. The trio has scored one goal, but has scored twice in their own end. The distribution of goal expectations is a modest 40 percent.
These are not readings Hintz and Robertson are used to. In the regular season, together with Pavelski, the duo controlled about 60 percent of the expected goals.
– Here credit must also be given to Minnesota. They defend in three areas of the game so well. Minnesota is a Duna gang, and that identity is brilliantly realized by that group. The homework is done, says Lehkonen.
Lehkonen also reminds that Hintz is not in the habit of shirking responsibilities even in his own area. Committing to a defensive game also prepares for sharp counterattacks.
– No one really talks about how damn well Hintz defends. It’s really tough and he gets stops and even catches. If it turns into an attack, he can’t be caught because his timing on the starts is so good.
– If Roope gets to the front, it is absolutely impossible to catch him. Just like someone Connor McDavid.
So there has been almost no oxygen against tight Minnesota in even fives. While in the regular season, Dallas dominated 5-on-5 goal chances with Hintz on the ice for about 60 percent, now the number is only 36 percent.
Of course, Dallas has also done an excellent job with Minnesota’s top players. The scoring position statistics of Minnesota’s top players in the first sector scream heavily starting with red Kirill from Kaprizov.
– Quite a funny situation, where the top guys of both teams are in the red in these statistics. There, the coaches are now thinking carefully about how to resolve playing in tied fives. Therein also lies the solution of the series, which one will come through first in this respect, Lehkonen estimates.
However, this has not stopped Hintz. Under his leadership, Dallas has run the upper hand with more than 40 percent efficiency, even though Minnesota’s Alivoima was excellent in the regular season. In the two winning games, Hintz scored four points with a power play.
– Dallas is really strong in front of the goal and they operate there quite aggressively. Mask and control play is good and they have succeeded in finding loose pucks. This is an important aspect, because scoring depends a lot on which team finds the second and third pucks, Lehkonen reminds.
“We have two superstar strikers”
It’s easy to see Hintz playing a central role Miro Heiskanen with also in the moments of resolution of the series.
– Skating is economical for both. They wouldn’t be able to play those kinds of minutes otherwise. Minnesota constantly chases Heiska, but Miro dodges well from underneath. Roope’s skating is so good that he is never at a disadvantage, even though he is constantly in the goal.
Lehkonen does not take Hintz’s brilliance for granted.
– This Hintz is a great guy. In terms of forwards, we have two superstars in the NHL when it comes to leadership and winning play in the playoffs: Mikko Rantanen and Hintz.