At 14:30 of the second period on Nov. 7, Thomas Harley scored a power-play goal that gave Dallas a 4-2 lead over San Jose. It was the loudest entry on his scoresheet that night, but not the only important one. Harley had already assisted on Roope Hintz’s power-play goal at 09:16 of the first period and Jason Robertson’s man-advantage goal at 16:51.
Dallas won 4-3, and Harley had a hand in all three of its power-play goals. One strong night does not create a new job description. It does, however, look more valuable after Wednesday’s decision by Stars coach Glen Gulutzan: Miro Heiskanen will miss Thursday’s game against Winnipeg.
Heiskanen skated alone Wednesday rather than practicing with the group. His absence will reach three straight games Thursday, following the Nov. 3 upper-body injury against Washington and missed games against Columbus and San Jose. A weekend return remains possible, but Gulutzan did not present it as certain.
The immediate replacement question is therefore less about finding another Heiskanen than preserving the parts of Dallas’ attack that can be preserved.
Harley’s work on the power play is one of those parts.
The San Jose game offered three separate examples. Hintz’s goal put Dallas back level at 1-1 in the first period, with Harley credited on the play. Robertson’s goal later in that period stretched the advantage to 3-1, again with Harley assisting.
After San Jose pulled within one early in the second, Harley’s own goal restored a two-goal margin at 14:30. His contributions arrived at different points in the game and in different forms: two assists, then a finish.
That variety is valuable because Heiskanen’s absence removes more than a name from a lineup. Heiskanen had played 24:53 per game before the injury and produced 11 points in 15 games, with three goals and eight assists. Dallas cannot ask Harley to reproduce every part of that workload, and the other defensemen must absorb responsibilities that no single player can simply inherit.
Harley has nevertheless been carrying a comparable overall burden. He averages 24:57 per game, has 11 points in 17 contests and owns two goals and nine assists. Those numbers do not make him a substitute for Heiskanen; they show why his offensive involvement deserves attention while Dallas works through the shortage.
His special-teams role gives the Stars a way to keep him influential without pretending the defense has been fully repaired.
The broader power-play figures support that approach. Dallas has scored 48 goals in 17 games, or 2.82 per game, and is converting 27.5 percent of its power-play chances. That unit has been a substantial source of offense, not a pleasant extra on the side of the game plan.
