Dallas Stars: Boys Are Back In Town

Last night, the Dallas Stars put to bed an ugly scoring drought and showed us how good teamwork from them can really look.

It’s almost like the Dallas Stars have a formula for winning. When they are aggressive and physical, when the defense chips in, and when they don’t give up on rebounds, they create a confident vibe and work together seamlessly to down other teams.

And the Stars were indeed physical. Stephen Johns mentioned that St. Louis is, itself, a physical team and the Stars went into the game knowing it was going to be an aggressive game. With two fights and 28 hits just from them, the Stars didn’t get disappointed on that front.

Not only did that create evenness that said the Stars were not to be intimidated, but it got them more productive chances at net, the thing that had been alluding them as of late.

Another issue we noted in the Stars’ previous dry stretch was the distinction between defense and offense. When the Dallas Stars are playing their best hockey, that distinction is blurry and the flow between the two seamless.

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Out of the Stars’ 6 goals last night (yeah, 6, isn’t that great?!?) more than half of them (yeah, more than half, isn’t that great?!?) were scored by defensemen. John Klingberg assaulted the net twice, his first scoring of the season, hopefully signalling that something has clicked for him and that he will be just as active in the games to come.

Jordie Benn also scored the last goal of the game. After Klinger’s empty netter, the Blues replaced their goalkeeper, only to have Jordie light the lamp yet again, only 17 seconds later. The fact that the Stars are still looking for and going for those kinds of chances with three minutes left on the clock and a 3 goal lead is great. They’ve found their offensive creativity and after being apart from it so long, I hope they never ever let it go again.

But the contribution of the defense makes it even sweeter. In a physical, aggressive game like this one, to have the defense both do their job in their own zone and be able to act as part-time forwards is definitely makes a statement of confidence.

One thing that had been bothering me to no end in watching replays of recent losses was that the Dallas Stars seemed like they had forgotten the concept of rebounds altogether. Like they wouldn’t know a rebounded puck if it literally smacked them in the face. Well, no more.

The Stars knew what they were doing with those rebounds last night. Klingberg’s first goal was a gift from a rebound, when Jamie Benn was denied by Allen and retrieved that rebound to set Klingberg up and start over again.

The Stars’ 4th goal was also a rebound in its previous life. Seguin’s shot was denied, but Spezza took possession of that rebound and made it count. This goes to show also that part of the success of rebounds is simply have a lot of traffic around the net.

The Stars took advantage of having bodies in close to the goal. The first goal of the game was a Seguin shot that turned into an Eaves tip-in. While I’m on this topic, can I talk for just a second about Seguin’s record in this game? A 4-point game, something he’s only achieved once before.

If you wanted to get set up last night, Seguin was your go-to guy. He earned the assist on four of the Stars’ 6 goals, and knowing one of those was an empty netter makes Seguin’s role all that more important. Although he hasn’t been the biggest scorer himself this season, perhaps he has finally found his point of contribution in seeing where the shot should go, and making it go there.

All in all, the Dallas Stars were able to build on the aspects that, when combined, make them such a great team. They’ve worked hard to get to this point, so seeing them struggle in the last three games was pretty difficult.

But with the help of a little aggression and physicality, the two-way defense, paying attention to the rebounds, and some good ol’ fashioned teamwork, it seems the Stars may be back to their old scoring selves. Hey y’all, time to get excited. The boys are back in town!