Dallas Stars Need Solution To Line-Juggling

The Dallas Stars need to be willing to brave rough waters when it comes to working out kinks in lines instead of just switching them up whenever the winds change.

We all like us some Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin chemistry. The leadership and charisma translate to goals and good things happening on the ice.

Well, it used to. Lately, what was once one of the most dynamic duos in the NHL has been strangely silent. Apart, the two have been somewhat slower in their individual production. But in past seasons, fans have put together numerous highlight videos of their cooperative goals, whereas this season there doesn’t seem like there will be enough footage to sustain those ventures.

In what I would consider to be four of the Dallas Stars’ most recent, well-played games, Benneguin has proven to be somewhat of a nonfactor. Let me show you what I mean.

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When the Dallas Stars took on Detroit on January 12^th, the ending score was a whopping 5-2. Nothing wrong about that. But even then, in that victory, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin failed to put up a tally.

Although the first line brought them both together with Eaves, Eaves was the only one to score in that game. While the two undoubtedly contributed to that goal, they made no real noise of their own.

Now on to the contest against the Kings on January 9^th. The Stars took a 6-4 win away that night, with a first line consisting of Hudler-Spezza-Seguin. Seguin did find the back of the net that night, while Jamie Benn was out with a foot injury.

The only real evidence that Bennguin still exists somewhere comes from December 29^th, in the Stars’ 4-2 win over the Avalanche. The top line killed that game, in which Benn registered 3 assists, Seguin scored 2 goals, and Spezza also notched 2 assists.

But back to the more consistent reality the Stars have faced this season. December 12^th, when the Stars brought the Flyers down 3-1 to crush their 10 game winning streak, both Benn and Seguin were strangely silent. Even on separate lines, they added no goals to the overall score, with Spezza’s fight being arguably the most productive move of that game.

So these are the facts- what do they all boil down to? The Dallas Stars, I think, can tell that their duo is, for whatever reason, not as sharp as they used to be. Even the once-revered GQ line has been anticlimactic. In an attempt to spark something, Ruff has split them up on separate lines, tried placing them together again, and everything in between. But something still is not clicking.

The only decidedly good run Benneguin has had recently was against Colorado, with Seguin centering Benn and Spezza. Why continue juggling lines when we have a proven solution?

One thing that seems consistent with the Stars is lack of patience. It’s ironic, for a team with a GM as longsuffering as Jim Nill. However, in their efforts to win, the Stars seem unwilling to struggle in the short term in order to succeed in the long term. If a line doesn’t work right away, it’s back to the chopping block for the portions to be separated and reassembled differently.

This is what’s killing the Dallas Stars. Benn-Seguin-Spezza has been productive numerous times. For all the times that they didn’t click on a certain night or didn’t produce quickly enough results, I would encourage the time-tested virtue of patience.

Practices should focus on working out these specific kinks, giving attention to these specific lines and testing their faults over and over until they are no longer issues. As exciting as the line juggling can be sometimes, I’d say it’s become a bit of an outdated and inefficient tactic.

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So, Stars coaching staff, keep these three together, or don’t. But be prepared for struggles either way. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. If not, we may begin to see pieces that were once very important to the makeup of the Stars’ team, fall away into silence.