EDMONTON — Mavrik Bourque, a rookie with the Dallas Stars, did not appear intimidated on Sunday morning by the prospect of playing in an elimination game during his Stanley Cup playoff debut.
“I feel excited,” Bourque said. “I’ve been waiting for that for a while. My game’s ready. I’m ready to go.”
With just one NHL game under his belt, the 22-year-old forward who leads the AHL in scoring is the go-to player for Stars coach Pete DeBoer when his team is in danger of losing.
With the Texas Stars of the AHL, Bourque recorded 26 goals and 51 assists in 71 regular-season games. In seven postseason contests, he scored three goals and eight assists. Since the middle of the Dallas team’s second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, he has been skating with Dallas.
The Edmonton Oilers have taken a 3-2 series lead into Sunday night’s Game 6; the Stars have only scored three goals in the last two games combined.
“He’s taken all the right steps,” DeBoer said. “We got him in late in the season and I think offense has been hard to come by in this series. And when you look at our grouping of guys, he’s the one guy who probably has the most offensive potential (among) the options that we’re looking at.”
Young players like Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven have been a huge success for Dallas in breaking into the team and making an instant impact.
In his first, third, and fourth NHL games back in February, Stankoven scored; in the postseason, Johnston has led the Stars in scoring. Stankoven and Bourque were teammates in the lower leagues.
After jumping 30 points in his second full AHL season, Bourque—the No. 30 pick in the 2020 draft—established himself as one of Dallas’ best prospects.
“Confidence,” Bourque said when asked what explained his step up in production. “I think confidence is huge for every hockey player, especially for me. Even the last few weeks I spent with the team for playoffs helped me to feel ready today.”
The Stars captain Jamie Benn did not believe the event would be too much for him, despite Bourque’s warning not to get too “impressed” by what he is about to witness.
“It’s a great spot, what an opportunity,” Benn said. “We’ll probably have some chats along the way, but he’s going to go out there and play his game. He had a great year in the AHL. And we don’t need him to come up here and do anything spectacular — just go out there and play his game.”
Coach Kris Knoblauch indicated there might be a single lineup change for the Oilers.
Sam Carrick’s replacement at fourth-line center will probably be Derek Ryan, based on the morning skate that was optional. Carrick has one assist in nine games, while Ryan has one and has played in 13 of Edmonton’s 17 playoff games.
Veteran winger Corey Perry will participate, according to Knoblauch. After being struck hard in the Oilers’ zone late in the first period by Dallas winger Joe Pavelski, Perry left the ice clutching his shoulder, missing several shifts in Game 5.
He did make a comeback to the game, playing 11:44. After 12 postseason games, Perry has had one assist.
(Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
