Dallas Stars: Depth Scoring Becoming Strong Element On Offense

Just a few games ago, the Dallas Stars seemed to only be scoring with their top line players. Now, their depth scorers are hopping in the driver’s seat and taking control of the games. Where could this newfound depth scoring take the team?

It sure is nice to see the Dallas Stars offense clicking on more than one line.

When the 2017-18 regular season kicked off, the Stars’ top line seemed to carry the load night in and night out. In fact, through the first 10 games of the regular season, 15 of the 23 goals tallied by Dallas forwards were scored by either Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, or Alexander Radulov.

It was becoming an increasing problem for the Stars as they attempted to forge a team identity. Dallas could not seem to get more than a game or two over .500 at any point in the early part of the season, and their inconsistent play was a big reason for that struggle.

The Dallas Stars experienced plenty of issues throughout the first part of this season. They had defensive struggles and an imbalanced goaltending duo that could not seem to click. But one of their biggest problems was on the offensive side of the puck.

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Outside of the top line, there was practically no production. Though the bottom nine forwards had plenty of energy and applied consistent pressure, the scoring just was not there.

It started out as a minor issue but quickly built into a lingering problem. When the top line could not come up with goals in certain games where the offense had to be near perfect, there were little forwards to look to. More often than not, defensive scoring (done primarily by John Klingberg and Esa Lindell) would actually carry the load in the lack of offensive depth.

The problem grew and grew and eventually contributed to Dallas starting the season 11-10-1 and sitting outside of a playoff spot by Thanksgiving Day. The Stars simply needed more scoring from their bottom forwards.

And boy did they get it. Over the past few games, the Dallas Stars have been clicking. A large part of that clicking is due to their offensive depth and pressure. All four lines are contributing in the scoring column, leading Dallas to a balanced but dominant attack on the offensive side of the puck.

Over the past five games, the Stars (now 16-10-1) have outscored their opponents 23-11. 10 different Stars have contributed to that 23 goal total. Tyler Seguin is sharing the lead with five goals, but tied with him is Radek Faksa, the Stars’ typical third-line center.

Faksa is skating under 13 minutes a game this season but is still putting up big numbers, especially in the recent past. He has five goals in the last four games, including his first career hat trick against Vegas last Tuesday.

Other depth forwards on the scoring list include Brett Ritchie (2), Mattias Janmark (2), Devin Shore, Antoine Roussel, Gemel Smith, and Jason Spezza.

And when 10 of your 12 starting forwards find the back of the net in a 10-day span, good things happen. As a result, the Stars have won their last five games (go go, yellow laces) and are quickly closing in on one of the top spots in the division.

Next: Central Division Coming At Stars In Full Force

When your offensive attack is balanced and deep, it’s hard to not put the puck in the back of the net. And as the rest of the Dallas Stars squad begins finding their consistency, this offense will only continue heating up. It’s nice to have depth. It’s even nicer when that depth can assert its dominance.

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