The Dallas Stars kept things rolling on Thursday night as they knocked off the Minnesota Wild in a 3-1 final on the road. And when compared to their first game, things looked much better overall.
Two preseason games may be considered a small sampling size when looking at the grand scheme of a hockey season, but it’s still worth something. And considering the Dallas Stars are now 2-0-0 on the preseason, there’s plenty to talk about.
The Stars traveled to Minnesota on Thursday to take on the Wild in their second contest of the 2018 preseason. After defeating the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night at home, it was a chance to go up against another Central division rival and measure their strengths. It was also a chance to try out new players and a new lineup to see if things clicked.
They definitely did as Dallas knocked off Minnesota in a 3-1 game to pick up their first road win.
But the game itself had much more to offer than just a final score, so let’s look into it a little more.
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The mismatch between lineups
First and foremost, the Dallas Stars looked like the younger and more inexperienced team when scanning the two lineups. While the Wild fronted veteran starters like Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon, and Devan Dubnyk, the Stars looked much different.
Dallas had 24-year-old Radek Faksa (who will play in his third full season this coming year) centering their top line and worked with a large number of forwards under the age of 27 while using a defense that was primarily comprised of young AHL options. In net, they split time between NHL backup Anton Khudobin and rookie Colton Point.
And yet, the Stars had no trouble setting the pace and controlling play. Dallas jumped ahead early after Miro Heiskanen scored on a point shot from the right side (yes, he can play both sides on defense) and held the lead until the second period. After an impressive deflection from Zach Parise, the game was tied until late in the third when Justin Dowling scored the game winner.
The Stars were outshot 27-23 in the game and lost the face-off battle, but the physicality was there and they did the little things right.
And speaking of the little things…
Montgomery was pleased
After Tuesday night’s comeback win over the Blues, Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery cited a lack of energy and effort from his team as well as a need to act on instinct and focus more on details.
But after Thursday’s win, he noted that he really liked the effort and attention to detail in his postgame press conference.
The outcome of a preseason game doesn't matter much. What does matter though is what happens in the game, and Monty is seeing some positives. https://t.co/LMhwwQR67R
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 21, 2018
Montgomery is currently trying to transition the Stars into a new era that involves a new scheme and thought process. That can be difficult, especially when trying to balance 50 players even though he won’t be coaching 25 of them in two weeks. But in the second game, there was a lot to like about the Stars’ effort.
The goalies looked good
Anton Khudobin and Colton Point both had solid nights in the crease for Dallas. Khudobin stopped all 14 shots that he faced, including a few spiffy stops after a turnover in the first period. Point came in midway through the game and, besides a Parise deflection that most NHL goalies probably wouldn’t stop, looked great as well, stopping 12/13.
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These performances come two days after Ben Bishop and Landon Bow put on impressive performances in their own preseason debuts.
So far, the Dallas Stars crease looks really good.
The Miro Heiskanen train keeps on chugging
“He’s a good hockey player.”
That’s what Montgomery had to say about Miro Heiskanen on Thursday following the win. And while that may not seem like the most motivating compliment, it definitely is.
The 19-year-old Heiskanen played in just his second NHL contest on Thursday night and did it in a different setting. After skating on the left side of the blue line (where he will probably skate for most of the 2018-19 season) on Tuesday night, Heiskanen was asked to switch over to the right side for the game against Minnesota. And while he has experience as a RD, it’s not an automatic transition.
But Heiskanen made it look easy. And at the 14:29 mark of the first period, no. 4 scored his first goal at the NHL level. It may not count in the stats book, but it’s another big step forward in what should be a long NHL career.
Two preseason games, two wins. Highlights from the Stars 3-1 win over the Wild on Thursday. #GoStars https://t.co/9IfRD0gcUY
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 21, 2018
By the end of the night, Heiskanen had a goal and a +1 rating, two blocked shots, and led the team in ice time with 23:23.
Don’t forget that he’s 19 years old.
All in all, it was a great bounce back from a sloppy performance on Tuesday night. But the bottom line is that, even with different lineups, the Dallas Stars are 2-0-0 in their preseason slate.
Game three comes on Saturday night in Tulsa, Okla. against the Florida Panthers. It’s another chance to get better and zone in on a big year ahead.