The Dallas Stars found the perfect balance of old and new as they defeated the Winnipeg Jets in the first of a two game series.
The Stars drew first blood and held their own until the final buzzer in this one, improving slowly on many areas that were causes for concern. In the end, Dallas incorporated offensive and defensive precision to help them pull ahead.
Game Recap
The Dallas Stars came out sporting a very different line-up, one that featured a split Benn and Seguin, and that had Stephen Johns scratched and Antti Niemi in goal. In the long run, these proved to be good moves. John Klingberg came out ready to score, taking several good long range shots early on to set the tone that the Stars were looking to find the back of the net.
They did so first, in a beautiful goal originating from a smart Niemi save, scrappy and aggressive play along the boards, and ultimately a smooth pass from McKenzie to Ritchie to make it 1-0.
In the second period, some more hard work in front of the net gave Eaves the opportunity to put the Stars up by 2 and gave Justin Dowling his first NHL point for the assist.
The Stars kept the momentum rolling on their many power play efforts, but near the end of the second, Niemi made his only true mistake of the game, coming out of the net to collect a puck, leaving an exposed target for the Jets, who easily made it 2-1.
In the third, the Stars seemed much more fluid and agile, connecting passes more easily and anticipating each other’s moves much better.
This brought about a snappy, unexpected albeit beautiful and well-timed goal from Seguin, giving the Stars 3 for the game and Seguin 3 for the season. The Jets didn’t score again until there were only 9 seconds left on the clock, but by then it was too late.
Thoughts and Observations
Work together, win together
The Stars had some obvious trouble early on with simple communication. Spacing was bad, and passes were not connecting well, resulting in turnovers and many instances in which the Stars were just outskated. However, as the game progressed, their teamwork improved greatly.
One component of this was the balance the Stars struck between production from the new guys and foundational forwards. Here’s what I mean by this. So far in the season, the Stars have mostly been carried by their call-ups and the guys who are still getting used to being in Victory Green. However, it takes two to tango and without the additional productivity of the vets, the Stars’ strength will fizzle- and has fizzled- out quickly.
So seeing good teamwork and effective performances from so many cornerstone guys- Niemi, Benn, Seguin, Klingberg, etc.- as well as contributions from the likes of Shore, Smith, and Dowling, made it not only a fuzzy feel-good win, but left a lot of hope for the progression of the season and the Stars’ ability to work together.
Sharing the love
The Stars and Jets accumulated a lot of some kind of feeling tonight that you will, without a doubt, see carried over into the next game. It all began with warm-up shenanigans, and continued rolling til past the final buzzer.
Gloves got dropped a few times, one or two of which didn’t even have Roussel at the core. The Captain went full Beast Mode near the end of the game when a pile-up near the goal threatened Niemi, and the rest of the crew naturally followed suit.
Seeing the Stars have a fire lit under them was also an encouraging part of this game. With the discouragement brought by injuries and various issues so far in a young season, Dallas was looking a bit down and defeated already. But the fact that they are still impassioned by sticking up for each other says a lot about the identity of the team and what the Stars play and win for.
Next: Dallas Stars Shouldn't Get Too Cocky Too Soon
While the Stars did suffer from some problems tonight like bad communication resulting in turnovers and slowness, they did a lot right, too. Let’s hope to see all the right stuff repeated when the Stars take on the Jets for the second time in a row in Winnipeg on Thursday night.