Wyatt Johnston may be the NHL’s single most improved player this season, and he strengthened his case with a superb Game 7 showing to propel the Dallas Stars past the Vegas Golden Knights.
While his raw tools don’t jump out at you (6’2”, 184-pound frame and 61st percentile in top speed), the 20-year-old’s off-puck movement and on-puck craftiness are already surprisingly polished. Rather than lugging rubber from coast to coast, he picks his spots and strikes only when you’re most vulnerable.
Notice how the sophomore forward lulls Vegas’ blue line to sleep:
As Jamie Benn (DAL 14) circles the cage in search of a pass, Johnston (DAL 53) sinks below the goal line—beyond Vegas’ field of view—before springing into action precisely as Joe Pavelski (DAL 16) pulls the trigger from the right circle. He’s therefore able to get a couple of cracks in before the Golden Knights even know what hit them.
Sunday night’s performance was more about pursuit than spacing, though. His finest moments originated from split-second calculations around the puck.
Midway through the third period, Alex Pietrangelo (VGK 7) parks in front of his net with full control:
Johnston (the F1) grasps that he has a serious speed advantage here and takes a line that shades toward his counterpart’s forehand, which nullifies a clean outlet or comfortable escape route. Pietrangelo hesitates, coughs up the biscuit and Johnston flicks it on goal in one fluid motion.
That same nose for the puck produced the 1-0 goal:
Faced with a bouncing puck and outside leverage, most forecheckers would aim to either pressure through Tomas Hertl’s body (VGK 48) or undercut him. Johnston, for his part, senses an opportunity to scoop and skate into the heart of the OZ, so he sneaks over Vegas’ trade-deadline pickup, corrals the loose puck and whistles it in glove side.
Sunday night’s opening goal captured the essence of Johnston’s game: He doesn’t necessarily dominate from pillar to post, but he can smell the slightest chance to punish defenders.
He certainly did in Game 7:
In just his second pro season, Johnston’s consistent menace and stellar production (7 points in 7 games) represented the difference between two evenly matched clubs.
Here are the highlights: