Familiar faces Klingberg and Janmark will represent Sweden in their battle against the USA on Saturday morning. Plus, playoff stuff, a nice Fleury, and more!

Happy Friday, my friends! I hope this weekend finds you well. I know some of you don’t subscribe to The Athletic and don’t enjoy when its articles are linked to on here, so apologies in advance, but some days there really isn’t anything else to lead with regarding the Dallas Stars. That being said, Sean Shapiro does great work there and his mailbag is always very informative. Here are a few of the juiciest bits:

On Julius Honka’s future and how his Star (pun intended) seems to be fading a bit with Miro Heiskanen’s ascension:

Here is the issue with those comparisons: Heiskanen is considered a potential generational talent, someone who won’t just compete for Norris Trophies someday, but might win them. He and Honka shouldn’t be judged on the same scale; that’s how good Heiskanen is supposed to be.

Looking at Dan Hamhuis’ future with the team and what it might mean for the aforementioned young Finns:

If Hamhuis is back the Stars likely have to make a playing time decision between Honka and Heiskanen going into next season. And if that’s the case it could open the door for a trade that moves Honka out of Dallas.

How Jim Montgomery can impact the team beyond on-ice strategy:

Montgomery has a history of building a culture and community that wins. He did it in the USHL and he did it in college, the hope is that he can build that type of culture on an NHL roster. It’s not a tangible thing, but it’s just something this franchise has been lacking as it’s faltered from a consistent contender to an also-ran in the past 10 years.

This is only a small sampling of the mailbag, there is plenty more to see at Sean’s spot. [The Athletic]

Stars Stuff

I’m trying to remain level-headed about the hype that is building up around him, but also very excited about it at the same time:

Here are some more Worlds stat nuggets:

Around the League

Playoffs?!?:

The Washington Capitals seemed to control things for stretches of Game 4, but a very underwhelming power play and an incredibly sharp Andrei Vasilevskiy proved too much to overcome as the Tampa Bay Lightning added an empty netter late to win 4-2 and even the series at two games apiece. [NHL]

Nicklas Backstrom made his triumphant return to the Capitals’ lineup last night:

I may be naive, but I think most people who really want to bet on sports were already doing so before this decision came down. Sure, there will be more casual and low-level gambling once everything gets sorted out, but I don’t see it impacting the game that much. If anything, I think it will impact sports coverage more than the sports themselves. But again, the naivety thing:

I continue to find it weird that Dave Lozo is a hockey writer, because he seems to hate hockey more than anyone else that I know. Also no matter the sport, you will always lose in gambling eventually (not that it isn’t fun):

Marc-André Fleury seems like a pretty cool dude:

The dry willy was a nice touch as well:

Better ice and better for the environment? Sounds good to me!:

If Defending Big D’s Prospect Reports aren’t enough for you (which I can’t see being possible), you can buy The Hockey News’ 2018 Draft Preview:

Sorry, Radek Faksa, we still love you:

I guess I want USA to win, but for John Klingberg and Mattias Janmark to have like five points apiece: