Roope Hintz’s line began with a zero in the goals column, which is usually where a hurried reading of a hockey box score stops. It should not have stopped there Monday.
In the Dallas Stars’ 5-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center, Hintz was credited with assists on two goals scored by two different teammates before he finished with one shot and 15:31 of ice time.
The first came with 1:09 remaining in the opening period. Miro Heiskanen scored on a backhand at 18:51, and Hintz joined Jamie Benn as an assister. That goal made it 1-0, and Dallas finished the period with 11 shots to San Jose’s two. The Stars had created the game’s early margin in shot volume; the Heiskanen goal finally put that margin on the scoreboard.
Hintz’s name appeared again in the second period, this time beside Benn’s. Joel Kiviranta had made it 2-0 at 3:17, with Oskar Bäck and Radek Faksa assisting. At 6:19, Benn scored on a snap shot, assisted by Jason Robertson and Hintz. The interval between Kiviranta’s goal and Benn’s was 3:02, and Dallas had moved from a one-goal lead to a three-goal cushion.
That sequence gives Hintz’s night more shape than the simple phrase “two assists” allows. His first credit was attached to the goal that ended the opening tie. His second came on the play that made San Jose’s deficit considerably harder to manage. Neither goal belonged to him, yet both placed his contribution alongside a change in the score that mattered.
The names in the goal summary naturally drew more attention. Heiskanen, Kiviranta, Benn, Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen each scored once, giving Dallas five different scorers. Rantanen’s wrist shot at 15:22 of the third period completed the scoring, long after the Stars had built their decisive lead.
Hintz had no goal to add to that list, but his two assists connected him to the first and third entries.
The broader numbers reinforce the context without turning Hintz into the sole author of the win. Dallas finished with 26 shots against 13 for San Jose and led 20-7 through two periods. All five Stars goals came at even strength.
Those figures show a team that established control early enough to spend the final period protecting a substantial advantage, while also showing why several players could contribute meaningfully to the result.
Hintz’s personal shooting total remained modest. He put one puck on goal, far fewer than Benn and Robertson, who each had four shots, and less than Rantanen’s three. His 15:31 of ice time also sat below the totals of several regular contributors. This was not a night in which Hintz overwhelmed the box score with attempts or minutes.
