Dallas Stars Rookies Making It Hard For Veterans To Return

The Dallas Stars have put together mostly consistent spurts of winning so far this season. After taking three straight wins on the road, the Stars fell to the same team for the second straight time on Tuesday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs somehow slipped out of Dallas with a 3-2 win.

The Stars now sit with a record of 12-4-0 with 24 points, which is still a very impressive feat. They have tied the franchise’s best start that was set back in 2006-2007 and are currently sitting in first place throughout the entire Western Conference.

So, yeah, things are pretty good if you’re a Dallas Stars fan right now. Sure they slipped up against the second worst team in the Eastern Conference, but as long as they continue taking three or four steps forward before a step back, it does not really matter who they lose to. This is not college football, so the caliber of the opponents means nothing to the overall standings.

The main reason the Dallas Stars are succeeding this season is their offense, which is primarily the same reason they succeeded last year as well. While the defense and goaltending are much better this year than last, there are still some hiccups along the blue line and in the crease. This is where the offense comes in to lift them up and dust them off.

The Stars offense has been near perfect through the early goings of this season. Currently, they are averaging 3.5 goals per game and around 31 shots on net per game. This is with a lineup consisting of nine forwards under the age of 30 out of 13. Three of these were recently called up from the AHL or are participating in their first NHL games. Those three are Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore, and Radek Faksa.

And these three players could cause some trouble for Stars veteran forwards Patrick Eaves and Travis Moen.

On October 13th, Eaves was sidelined with a lower-body injury suffered in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. It was determined that he would be out for a few weeks and he has yet to start since, though he is back to participating in morning skates. Eaves is pointless through three games this season.

As a result of his injury, the Dallas Stars were forced to call up some of their red-hot rookies from the AHL. Crazy as it may seem, all the rookies currently embedded in the Stars NHL program are thriving. Janmark (3-3-6) leads all candidates with six total points through 16 games, while Faksa (1-0-1) rests with a quiet one through 12 contests. Shore is still at zero points but has only taken part in three games.

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These three rookies are putting in some serious work and using all of the time they are granted to their complete advantage. They are being physical and protecting the puck well when on offense, they are gaining chemistry with their line-mates quickly and effectively converting that chemistry into points and possession on the ice, and they are proving that they deserve full time spots.

It’s a difficult scenario to be in considering the Stars will have to deny someone playing time sooner or later. Not to mention that Travis Moen is currently recovering from an injury as well. Moen’s role this season is more of a scratch/starter depending on the day and his status is never truly confirmed. He is in the final year of his contract and can be a breath of fresh air sometimes on the Stars offensive front.

So with all of the choices at forward for the Dallas Stars, they will need to be careful to pick the best options. They have plenty of choices to choose from, including some budding rookies and seasoned veterans. But one thing is sure: no forward is safe anymore in the Stars new offensive system, whether it be Patrick Eaves or Devin Shore.

Next: Dallas Stars Goalies Being Used For All They Are Worth

All will need to prove their worthiness, which in the end is only helping the Stars organization. The fear of losing their starting spot will only help the strong survive and the weak to be weeded out. The Stars next test is on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Hopefully they can recover quickly from the loss to the Maple Leafs and pick up their first Central Division win of the year. The offense will more than likely be in full force.