Dallas Stars: Bringing Back Benn, Seguin
After rebounding from a four-game losing streak and finding themselves on a two-game winning one, are the Dallas Stars finally back on the upswing, or is it another calm before the storm?
Batman and Robin. Barney and Fred. Thelma and Louise. Calvin and Hobbes. Chips and salsa.
What do all these pairs have in common? Undeniable chemistry. They just gel. They’re better off together than they are alone, and it shows.
Oh yeah, and one other pair I forgot to add: Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
Normally, this dynamic duo would have been the very first on the list. Their chemistry and offensive threat was made clear last season, when they cemented themselves as arguably the best offensive duo in a league of rather renowned offensive duos.
Jonathan Quick, in his article for the Players’ Tribune breaking down the most elite snipers of the league, even listed Benn and Seguin as a pair. In his evaluation, it was their “mischievous,” quick releases and penchant for the unpredictable that made them and their chemistry dangerous.
And kind of like smoke follows beauty (except in a much more real way), team successes follow chemistry like Benn and Seguin have.
Well, had. Or at least, misplaced and are attempting to relocate, one can only hope.
Comparing this season so far to last is a difficult thing to do. Remember with me, if you will, that the Stars didn’t really start rolling until the end of their season, while this season seems to be a flip-flop version of that.
But however you spin it, it’s still hard to imagine that this season’s Seguin is the same one that propelled that end-of-season push and that this season’s Benn is the same one who basked in the light of the Art Ross this summer.
Perhaps this is one reason why the Dallas Stars have been experiencing some skids. Call them growing pains, maybe. The Stars knew they were failing last season, and the pressure of salvaging the season to whatever extent fell on the leadership of the team and its offensive stars.
Conversely, the Stars came out swinging this season, and settled into a comfortable routine that lacked a lot of that pressure. The new kids got their chance to work hard and shine, and perhaps because of this, the more usual suspects are now simply out of practice.
We’ve become much more accustomed to seeing players like Jason Spezza, Colton Sceviour, and Ales Hemsky doing a good deal of the goal scoring. Even younger players like Mattias Janmark and Valeri Nichushkin have been doing some heavy lifting as of late.
More stars: Dallas Stars' Dynamic Duo: Benn and Seguin
Isn’t hockey such a curious thing? It’s so mental- and by mental, I of course mean psychological. Ponder how a team that is struggling with goaltending and defense can still claim one of the most explosive offenses in the league and succeed with it *coughcough late last season Stars*. Then think, too, about how a team that has improved on all of its weakest fronts can still struggle to win this far into the season when its offense has, if anything, gained even more value.
It all goes back to Jonathan Quick’s description of Bennguin at its peak: “mischievous” and “unpredictable”. Think back to the last few games you can remember, and I’m sure “predictable” is a word you’d find more appropriate to describe the duo’s performance.
Again, that’s not to say that they’ve just shrugged, thrown their hands up, and decided the offense can carry itself. They’re still notching assists and occasional goals and working as playmakers.
Perhaps, after the several downward spirals the Dallas Stars have launched themselves into this season, the pressure will finally surmount to a point that will translate into some new-found unpredictability for Benn and Seguin. Maybe all this losing will remind them where they’ve hidden their magic bag of tricks (hattricks, that is).
Not to wish more losing on the Dallas Stars. But again, hockey’s a funny thing. Sometimes you have to lose to win. In a perfect world, the Stars will remain on the upswing and Benn and Seguin will just hop right back on that scoring train all by themselves.
Next: Stars March To Playoffs Needs To Be Similar To Last Year
But should things happen to go wrong again, keep in mind that pressure and distress can be a good thing. Pressure makes diamonds and distress makes pearls. So if the conditions are right, maybe these two can combine and bring us Bennguin back.