Dallas Stars: Radek Faksa Rightfully Named NHL’s Third Star Of Week

The NHL released its weekly “Three Stars” list on Monday morning, and for the first time this year, a Dallas Stars player was involved. But it’s not a player that you might expect.

It’s been a while since the NHL featured a Dallas Stars player in their weekly “Three Stars” list. The last Stars player to grace this list was goaltender Kari Lehtonen on March 27, 2017. The week prior, Lehtonen posted a 3-0-1 record along with a .959 save percentage, a 1.00 goals against average, and a shutout.

Unfortunately, Lehtonen’s late-season spark was not enough to carry Dallas out of the early season hole that they had dug for themselves. The Stars still missed the playoffs by a wide margin and entered the offseason on a disappointing note.

But Lehtonen’s performance was something to admire. In a season filled with struggles across the entire lineup, it was encouraging to see no. 32 start a hot streak. It not only provided a sense of hope, but also a reassurance that the season as a whole wasn’t all that negative. All you have to do is dig deep and find some positives.

When the 2017-18 season kicked off on October 6, it was possible that the Dallas Stars were in for another year of little victories mixed with crushing defeats. The Stars could not play consistent hockey and struggled to keep their record above .500.

Dallas Stars

That all seems to be changing now, though. The Stars have won five in a row, outscored their opponents 23-11 in the span, and are ascending the standings. They are forcing themselves back into the playoff picture and talks of being a legit contender. But this level of play has to continue if they want the latter to be realistic.

Throughout the last ten days, Dallas seems indestructible. The Stars are scoring almost five goals a game on offense, shutting down the opposition on defense, and claiming victories against legitimate opponents. Dallas picked up three Central Division wins (two against Chicago and one against Colorado) and defeated two Pacific Division teams as well (Vegas and Calgary).

What is responsible for this recent surge cannot really be put into words. It all really boils down to the fact that the Stars are in the right frame of mind, are clicking as a complete unit, and have found the perfect balance. Each player is digging deep and doing their part to make the team better.

There is one player in particular that is carrying his weight with extra flare over the win streak. That player is Radek Faksa, who was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday morning. He is the first star to be named to the list since Lehtonen last year.

Faksa’s performance in a four-game streak has been undoubtedly dominant. You could even make an argument that he’s been the most impressive Star over the past two weeks (even more than Tyler Seguin, who has five goals and two assists over the span).

Faksa has scored five goals and tallied two assists over the past four games along with a +7 on-ice rating. Four of those goals came at even strength, with the fifth coming on a shorthanded penalty shot. His largest surge was in Vegas, when he scored his first career hat trick against a strong Vegas Golden Knights team.

Faksa shot 31.3 percent over the stretch, which is incredible. He did all of this in an average of 15:37 on the ice. That’s pretty incredible for a third-line depth forward.

For the longest time, the only Stars that ever seemed to make this weekly list were Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, or Kari Lehtonen (and maybe Jason Spezza. If they weren’t a big-name player wearing Victory Green, they likely weren’t making the list.

But Faksa pulled off the seemingly improbable. He took his role as a two-way forward on the third line and worked with it. No. 12 put 100 percent effort into the time he was given each game and turned over some pretty incredible results.

It’s almost shocking that Faksa wasn’t named the first or second star considering his situation. The first star was awarded to Winnipeg forward Blake Wheeler for scoring two goals and tallying ten points in four games. Montreal goaltender Carey Price earned the second star with a 4-0-0 record along with a 1.50 GAA and .950 save percentage.

Those are both impressive statistics in and of themselves, but Wheeler is a first line forward skating almost 21 minutes a game and Carey Price is, well, Carey Price. These two individuals are NHL superstars and are expected to put up big numbers. Faksa, on the other hand, came out of nowhere and put his name on the NHL map after sticking to just the Dallas market for the first two years of his career.

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Either way, being in the top three is something incredibly special, especially for a guy like Faksa. There might not be a more deserving guy on the roster for an award like this. No. 12 works night in and night out and gives his all to the team. He contributes on offense, defense, and special teams and carries his weight as a two-way forward.

What an achievement for a 23-year-old depth forward.