Roope Hintz’s return was exactly what the Dallas Stars needed 

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz missed the past four playoff games with an upper-body injury. Dallas lost in Game 5 but eliminated the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 and split home games in the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers over that span. In other words, they won 50 percent of their games without Hintz. 

Hintz is the Stars’ best forward. As Stars coach Pete DeBoer spoke about ahead of Game 2, he does everything for Dallas. 

Hintz is not only a top-end talent, recording 65 points in 80 games during the regular season, but the 27-year-old is also one of the best two-way forwards in the game. He is big, at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, he can skate with anybody in the league and he brings out the best in his linemates on both ends of the ice. 

In his return in Game 3, Hintz took nearly no time to get up to game speed. He played 17:48 and picked up primary assists on the first two Stars goals, both by linemate Jason Robertson. His first assist came after a beautiful keep-in at the offensive blue line. 

Not only was Hintz’s return exactly what Dallas needed, as the Stars won 5-3 and took a 2-1 series lead, it was also the jolt that allowed Robertson to score three goals after not finding the back of the net in 10 straight playoff games. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: Hello, Jason Robertson. 

Frank Seravalli: Hello, Roope Hintz! He was the game-changer that maybe unlocked Jason Robertson, who had gone through this goal-scoring drought, hadn’t really been a force these playoffs. He gets a hat trick. Roope Hintz picks up a couple of assists, and he looks like he never missed a beat. I love what Pete DeBoer said… He may not be Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, but for this Dallas Stars team, Roope Hintz is their No. 1 center.

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