Why Miro Heiskanen hops on the bike after each game

On the other side of the ice, Alex Pietrangelo uses an ice bath to recover.

Miro Heiskanen played 30 minutes of hockey on Thursday night.

More than anyone on either team as the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime to extend the series into a Game 5.

It was Heiskanen’s fifth game of the postseason with 30 minutes or more. He’s averaging 28:03 per game, tops of any player remaining in the playoffs, and that number would be higher if he hadn’t been injured and left after only 13 shifts in one game of the Seattle series.

Heiskanen’s ice time is both impressive and by necessity. The Dallas defensive core needs him to eat heavy minutes, needs him to elevate another defender to a higher level. If he doesn't, well, we saw what happened in the game in Seattle when he was injured.

We all see the on-ice workout for Heiskanen, the half-hour of ice time in intense NHL playoff conditions.

But it’s only part of his daily cardio on game day.