Dallas Stars Defense Heating Up For Stanley Cup Playoff Push

There is still one more day before the Dallas Stars return to regular season action. While we wait, let’s take a look at the Stars’ most dominant area this season: the blue line.

Some things just never go well together. Peanut butter and tuna, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries, and Olympic hockey without NHL players are a few things that fall into this category. The Dallas Stars and defense also fit this mold.

Over the past few seasons, the Stars have struggled greatly on the blue line. It’s been a long time since the days of Sergei Zubov and Derian Hatcher. That was the Stars’ heyday. But now, things are different.

When you think of the Dallas Stars over the past few years, your first thought probably has to do with offense. And rightly so. Ever since Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were paired at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, the Stars offense has been budding.

From then to now, it’s been a gradual but entertaining process. Offensive powerhouse players like Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, and Alexander Radulov are all names that have donned Victory Green over the years. Some have stuck around, some have departed via trade or free agency, but the offense still seems to keep their success consistent.

But it’s not just the forwards that are succeeding in the offensive zone. Defensemen like John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski, and Esa Lindell are a few players that have given the Stars an extra scoring edge from the blue line in recent seasons.

Dallas Stars

The success, however, didn’t translate any further through the lineup. Goaltending and defense were seen as weak or at best moderately stable points in the Dallas system. Dallas was in the bottom half of the league in goals against per game on a relatively consistent basis, gave little to no focus or attention in the defensive end, and couldn’t seem to keep up with the offenses of most NHL teams. As a result, they could never take the next step.

But this season, the Dallas Stars are undergoing a serious culture shock. And no, their offense isn’t reaching yet another incredibly new level. While the offense is still scoring and putting up impressive numbers, it’s the backend where the Stars are seeing new success.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Stars sit fifth in the NHL in goals against per games played with an average of 2.61. That’s quite a far cry from where they finished last year, rolling in at 29th in the league with a disastrous 3.17 GA/GP.

A casual hockey fan outside of the Dallas Stars organization would probably suspect that this great change came to some substantial movement in the offseason. But in all reality, it isn’t.

Sure, the Stars traded for defenseman Marc Methot and signed defensive forward Martin Hanzal during the summer, but look at the lineup. Methot has missed over two-thirds of the season with a knee injury and Hanzal has been an inconsistent member of the lineup with injuries of his own.

If you study the Stars’ defensive lineup, you’ll notice that there has been little change to it throughout this season. Head coach Ken Hitchcock has kept his defensive lineup consistent, and that has been a factor in their success.

Esa Lindell – John Klingberg

Dan Hamhuis – Greg Pateryn

Stephen Johns – Julius Honka/Dillon Heatherington

For the past two months, Dallas has run with this lineup in all but one game. Two defensemen trading starts, but that’s it. Everything else has stayed the same.