Seguin quickly paying dividends for Stars heading to Game 4 vs. Avalanche

DENVER -- Tyler Seguin is supposed to be returning about now, based on the timeline when he had hip surgery Dec. 5.

But the forward already has two goals in the Western Conference First Round, including the overtime goal that gave the Dallas Stars a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Game 4 is at Ball Arena on Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, MAX, truTV, TBS, ALT, SN, TVAS).

“He worked his [tail] off to get back as early as he did,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think it’s the earliest the surgeon who did this surgery has ever had a guy come back from this, and that was him just working to give himself a chance to play.”

Seguin has won the Stanley Cup. But that was with the Boston Bruins in 2011, when he was a 19-year-old rookie.

He’s a 33-year-old veteran now and has been trying to hoist that trophy again for years, going as far as the Stanley Cup Final with Boston in 2013 and Dallas in 2020. After the Stars lost in the Western Conference Final for the second straight time last year, he was philosophical.

“Hockey’s hard, you know?” he said after a 2-1 loss at the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6. “You need a lot of things to go right. You need to have that opportunity. We had that opportunity. We went through a gauntlet, beat some really good teams and knew we had something special and lost to a team that we thought we could beat, and sometimes that’s playoffs. Sometimes it’s that one bounce, that one goal, one save.

“It’s why we all love it. It’s why this is the hardest damn trophy in the world to win.”

Seguin entered this season managing a wear-and-tear problem with his left hip. DeBoer said the hope was that he could play with it.

He played well with it for a while. The line of Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Seguin was one of the best in the NHL.

Through Dec. 5, Duchene led the Stars with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 25 games. Marchment was second with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 24 games. Seguin was next with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 19 games.

But the hip flared up amid the grind of the regular season.

“I think at that point kind of reality struck,” DeBoer said. “… If he can’t get through back-to-backs during the regular season, how is he going to get through a playoff run? So that’s when the surgery [decision was made]. And honestly, his due date back from the official surgery was probably this week or next week.”

Seguin returned for the regular-season finale at the Nashville Predators on April 16, and the Marchment-Duchene-Seguin line clicked immediately. Duchene and Seguin assisted on a goal by Marchment 16 seconds into the game. DeBoer smiled on the bench.

The Stars lost 5-1, but they had nothing for which to play with their playoff matchup locked up. It was a dress rehearsal.

Game 1 was the real thing. It was fast and physical, and Dallas lost 5-1.

“It was just all gas, right into the fire,” Seguin said. “There’s a balance of having fun with it and being so happy to be out there and almost fighting that with wanting to be a difference-maker and getting back to the things that make me help this team out. Definitely some things to learn from and only get better.”

Seguin scored on a one-timer on the power play at 19:06 of the first period in Game 2, tying the score 1-1. It was his first goal since Nov. 29, when he scored in a 5-3 win against the Avalanche in Dallas. The Stars went on to win this one 4-3 in overtime and tie the series 1-1.

“I thought Tyler really took a step from Game 1 tonight,” DeBoer said after that game. “Looked more comfortable, more up to speed, and I think he’s going to get better every game here.”

Seguin talked about the emotions of playing in front of the home crowd, looking up and not seeing anyone sitting down.

“That’s [why] the months of being out are all worth it," he said, "just being able to get back and be a part of this group and a part of this journey together, the highs and lows and what it feels like to win a game like that after losing the first one.”

At 5:31 of overtime in Game 3, Seguin kicked the puck to his stick and roofed it.

“That’s a high-, high-end skill play at full speed,” DeBoer said.

It was Seguin’s first playoff OT goal since April 22, 2012, when he gave the Bruins a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Only two other players have gone 13 years between playoff OT goals: Ray Whitney (16 years, 344 days) and Teemu Selanne (14 years, 23 days).

Hockey’s hard, you know? But the Stars have that opportunity again, and Seguin has worked hard to be a big part of it.