Polak knows his role
The skill and sandpaper combo on the back end has been around for a long time.
Often the best guy to play with a skilled blue-liner who likes to jump up into the rush with regularity is a stay-athome type.
That brings us to the Dallas Stars’ second pairing, which features the flash-and-dash of 2018 third overall pick
Miro Heiskanen and grizzled veteran and physical presence of Roman Polak.
While the Stars had plenty of heroes in building a 3-2 series lead over the St. Louis Blues, the play of Heiskanen and Polak has been critical to their success.
“All my career, I’ve been a role player. With age, your role changes a little bit but it’s always nice to find a role like I have here,” said Polak, who is averaging 19:13 of ice time during the playoffs. “If you look at my body, if I’m not physical, I’m not doing my job. So I’m trying to use it as much as I can.”
Game 6 is this afternoon at American Airlines Center.
Since Vladimir Tarasenko caught Heiskanen by surprise and blew by him for the game-winning goal in the third period of the series opener, the Stars pairing has been on the ice for only one goal against at even strength.
Heiskanen already is an exceptional player whose game is mature beyond his years.
“He’s been everything-plus for us. He’s just so calm. The game is never a rush for him,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “He’s a great skater. He’s never under pressure. The game is never too fast for him. He’s in the right position all of the time and he’s one of those guys that gets his stick on every puck. You go into a battle in the corner with three guys and he gets the puck.
His skating and his hockey sense are at an elite level.”
There are times when the 13-year veteran of 765 regular-season games has to remind himself that Heiskanen is a 19-year-old rookie.
“It’s unbelievable. I was surprised when he got here in training camp,” said Polak, who signed a one-year deal as an unrestricted free agent after spending last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I was watching him and he’s acting like he’s been here (for years). He’s not a cocky guy at all, but he’s got great confidence in him and he understands that he can do it. He’s a smart player and every day he’s getting better and better.”
Stars head coach Jim Montgomery said the pairing was born more out of necessity when his team was decimated by injury in November, but how the pairing worked out gave him reason to keep them together.
“What makes them effective is hockey sense. Roman Polak has great hockey sense, offensively and defensively,” said Montgomery. “He knows where the puck is going and he beats pucks to spaces. That’s why he breaks up a lot of plays for us.”
Sure, there is the odd time when Heiskanen jumps out with John Klingberg or someone else, but Polak is his regular partner — and that’s just the way that he likes it.
“Roman is really good in the defensive zone, so it’s really good for me,” said Heiskanen. “I’m not that big guy and physical guy. He does that stuff really well and that’s why we’re really good together.”
Polak isn’t just riding the coattails of Heiskanen either, he’s doing a lot of dirty work, sacrificing his body, taking care of things in the defensive zone and delivering hard checks.
“He is an asset to this team,” said Stars defenceman Ben Lovejoy. “He brings an element that very few guys can.”
Teams like the Blues want to get as many hits on Heiskanen as possible, and part of Polak’s job is to look out for the Stars’ exceptional rookie.
But Polak is much more than a protective big brother though, as it’s rare for him to get beaten in a one-on-one battle — even if he’s not quite as mobile as he once was.
“He’s such a smart defender, he catches people going east-west. He doesn’t pick the guy up playing north-south,” said Montgomery. “He’s allowed to angle right through arms that way and also at times, get big bodychecks because of his anticipation. If someone’s skating away and that’s his check, he’s right on top of them skating forward. He’s not skating backward. So that improves his angle.
“He’s been instrumental to the penalty kill, he’s been instrumental to our dressing room. I mean, we’ve talked about how much of a positive impact he’s had on us on the ice and off the ice. He’s someone that we couldn’t imagine playing without right now.”
And while there’s no doubt Heiskanen is well on his way to becoming a superstar, Polak’s contributions are appreciated by his teammates.
“He’s a warrior. He’s the heartbeat of the team,” said Klingberg. “He’s blocking a lot of shots and he’s playing really solid defensively and stopping a lot of plays from being made in our own zone. So, he’s been a good addition for us and someone who we really lean on.”