Dallas Stars: Practice Makes Perfect

After a two day break, the Dallas Stars look confident and poised to get back on the winning horse because, after all, everybody ropes and everybody rides.

After a near-meltdown (but adrenalin-laced recovery) against the Hurricanes on Tuesday, the Dallas Stars have had two days to correct their mishaps and bolster their strengths. Lindy Ruff noted several positive aspects to come out of two days’ worth of practice.

In one of “the first real good [practices]” in a while, the Stars hit the ice to get back to honing blue-line skill. Although the Dallas Stars’ defense has come a good long way from where it stood in shambles last season, Ruff noted a need to get back to the basics in practice and really cement the improvements the Stars have exhibited so far in this already record-breaking season.

With the defense receiving a tune up, the Dallas Stars will also get a bit of a boost from the return of Jason Demers, who skated in a defensive pair with Johnny Oduya in practice and is expected to play in tonight’s game.

Demers has been injured on and off lately, the most recent incidences occurring on Tuesday in Calgary. Interestingly enough, several strings of games in which the Dallas Stars’ seemed to really struggle have coincided with Demers’ absence on several occasions. So, thankfully he is feeling recovered from his upper body injury and ready to go.

Ruff also praised the Stars’ ability to find ways to win in different circumstances. In the midst of less-than-perfect performances on the part of the Dallas Stars, it can be sometimes easy to take for granted the fact that this seasons’ team is hitting practice hard and trying to mentally recover from games they won instead of from games they lost.

And a huge part of how far the Stars has come is due to that mental component. Ruff acknowledged the third period problems the Stars have faced, but also recognized the determination and grit that Dallas has demonstrated in keeping their heads in the game down to the very last moment before the buzzer sounds. That sort of mental toughness, though it can and has wavered at points, is keeping the Dallas Stars on their feet.

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While paying due attention to defense at practice, Ruff also skated some lines that have shown great promise so far this season- namely, the Benn-Seguin-Nichushkin line. After a mostly absent last season and a slow and disappointing start to this one, Valeri Nichushkin is falling into the role that the Dallas Stars had originally intended.

Having registered points in four out of the last five games and with two goals and five assists in the same span of time, Big Val seems to finally be picking up where he left off and finding chemistry back on his old line, at just 20 years old.

Jamie Benn recently noted how much Nichushkin had improved, both on the ice and in his communication, and that the top line was really benefitting from that enhanced relationship. His big body and increasing skill are becoming a real asset for the Stars.

Next: Dallas Stars: Overcoming Their Kryptonite

So with the defense well-practiced and reset, anticipating Demers’ return, and the offense gaining momentum thanks to the hard work of players like Nichushkin, the Dallas Stars seem well-poised to continue their ruthless ransack of the East as they take on the Flyers tonight.