Johnston's Power Play Mastery Propels Stars

0:00On April 24th, Wyatt Johnson just dropped a dagger for the Dallas stars in their Western Conference first round series against the Minnesota Wild. In double overtime of game three on Wednesday, he tipped in a shot from Miro Heiskenen on the power play to seal a 4-3 win, giving Dallas a 2-1 series lead. That was his third goal already in the series and is second with a man advantage. Johnson's been a beast on the power play all season, leading the league with 27 such goals. He mates like Miko Rantan and say it's his timing. He doesn't camp out. He glides into openings for that split second window and buries it. In this matchup, he's already doubled his playoff power play output from the last two post-season combined. Starscoach Glen Galutzen, who ran elite power plays in Edmonton, calls it pure hockey IQ something you can't coach. Johnson's not the biggest or fastest, but he reads the play like a savon, spinning and firing quick from tight spaces. Golly Jake O'Edinger adds, he's lightning fast once he finds that inch of room.

1:02The stars are clicking now at 5 for 13 on the power play over the last two games, forcing the wild to crowd him and open up elsewhere. Minnesota's kill unit shadows him heavy, but Wednesday they slipped just enough in overtime. Game 4 hits, Saturday at 5.30 p.m. Eastern, and if Johnson keeps hunting those net front spots, Dallas could roll deep into this series. His knack for space is straight fire. In HL News today, powered by AI bringing you what matters on and off the field, I'm Corey with The Story.