The offense is going to look significantly different tonight for the Dallas Stars. Hopefully that will lead to more goals and a pounding of the New York Islanders.
Three days off from action gives an 8-7-0 NHL team a lot of time to think. Hopefully the Dallas Stars have used that time wisely.
Over the past three days, Dallas has had an opportunity to try new things, assess their lineup, recover from a 4-1 humiliation by Winnipeg, and make changes. The Stars were dropped on Monday night at home by the Jets and fell even closer to an average record.
On Friday night, they have a new opportunity to make a bounce-back statement. The New York Islanders (8-5-2) are in town to help the Stars close out a three-game homestand before going out on the road for three. It’s going to be an interesting game for a lot of reasons.
For one, Dallas is undefeated (3-0-0) against the Eastern Conference this season. In addition to that, they are an impressive 5-2-0 on home ice. All three of their wins against the East have come on home ice this season. This game will kick off a four-game set against the Eastern Conference, giving the Stars an opportunity to get off on the right foot.
Dallas Stars
But the primary reason that tonight’s game will stick out is because of the different look the Dallas Stars will have on offense. And when I say different, I mean significantly different.
At the morning skate today, it was confirmed that Brett Ritchie and Radek Faksa would return to the lineup tonight. Both have been absent with injuries, with Ritchie coming off of the IR and Faksa being a day-to-day case.
Though they are returning, Tyler Pitlick was placed on the IR with an upper body injury. With his absence, the Stars called up forward Curtis McKenzie to serve as the new 14th forward/healthy scratch. There’s a chance that McKenzie could get reps in the coming week, but he will serve as the scratch tonight.
With all of the talent returning to the lineup, Ken Hitchcock has a chance to set a new standard with his offense. That new standard will hopefully come from the extensive line juggling he did over the past few days.
Here is a projection for how the Stars will look on offense tonight:
Gemel Smith – Jamie Benn – Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark – Tyler Seguin – Devin Shore
Remi Elie – Martin Hanzal – Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel – Radek Faksa – Brett Ritchie
This is a lot different than that 14-91-47 top line with either no. 90 or no. 10 on the second line. This is significantly different.
The Dallas Stars have a chance to grow with this new offensive scheme if they fully embrace it. Depth scoring and strong efforts from outside the top line have been lacking this year for the Stars. They have balanced out the skills on each line and should have a more well-rounded approach with all four lines instead of a “dominant or soft” approach.
Next: Grading Each Stars Player Through One Month Of Play
This offense could work well for Dallas or it could put them in yet another hole and push them to a .500 record. The Islanders are off to an average start to the year as well, so both teams are still in search of a kickstart to consistency.
Let’s see if giving this offense a whirl is just what the Stars need to turn their misfortunes around.