Dallas Stars News: Faksa, Klingberg Start Strong At World Championship

The 2019 World Championships are well underway with opening round play, and that’s good news for two Dallas Stars players. Both Radek Faksa and John Klingberg are off to strong starts with their home countries.

The Dallas Stars have been in offseason mode for a little under two weeks now, but the offseason waves have already started up.

Assistant coach Rick Bowness was interviewed by the Ottawa Senators for their head coaching vacancy. Esa Lindell signed a long-term deal with the Stars on Thursday morning that will keep him in a Dallas uniform until 2025. The rumors and fan accounts are already hyping up the coverage of Mats Zuccarello and his free agency situation.

There’s a certain familiarity to all of the rumors, cheers, and feelings of hope and uncertainty. Isn’t it great to be back in the offseason?

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But while the Dallas Stars are getting their summer plans underway here in America, two Stars players are still taking part in hockey action. The only difference is that they are competing halfway across the world.

The 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia is quickly nearing the end of preliminary round play. The 16-team tournament brings some of the best hockey-producing countries in the world together for a month-long competition with gold, silver, and bronze medals waiting at the end. It’s a perfect chance for players in their home countries to get a chance to shine on the big stage while also providing NHL players that are not competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a chance to continue playing.

And for the past few years, it’s been a popular place for many Dallas Stars players. Last season, names like Mattias Janmark, John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen, Julius Honka, and Radek Faksa all joined up with their respective countries and competed in the tournament. With the Stars not qualifying for the playoffs in 2018, it was a perfect chance for players with gas left in the tank to continue competing. And when it was all said and done, Janmark and Klingberg secured gold medals with Team Sweden.

This year around, the list of Stars players is much more condensed. Klingberg (Sweden) and Faksa (Czech Republic) are the only two Dallas skaters in the tournament and joined their teams shortly after being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in a seven-game series in round two of the NHL postseason.

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But through a handful of days, both Dallas Stars are off to strong starts with their teams.

After starting tournament play on Thursday, Faksa is now three games into the preliminary round with the Czechs. He tallied an assist in his debut as the Czechs rolled to a 6-3 win over Latvia and went pointless one day later in an 8-0 routing of Italy. On Sunday morning, however, he hit the offensive gas pedal. As part of an 8-0 beating against Team Austria, Faksa tallied the first goal (which turned out to be the game winner) as well as two assists to lead the Czechs in points with three. In the tournament, he has one goal and four points along with a +2 rating in three games played.

Klingberg also began tournament play on Thursday against Austria as Sweden cruised to a 9-1 victory. The Dallas defenseman ended up going pointless in the game, but bounced back on Saturday afternoon with an important assist against Switzerland. After falling behind less than five minutes into the game, Sweden bounced back with a power play goal late in the frame. Klingberg secured the primary assist on the goal and helped the Swedes tie it up before intermission. As a result, Klingberg has one assist and a +1 rating in two games.

On top of strong performances, both teams are also excelling at the moment. The Czechs have won five of their six contests so far and sit in second in the Group B standings. Their only loss came to Russia, who sits in first and has yet to lose a game. Meanwhile, the Swedes sit in third with four wins in five games played, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Czechs.

The Czech Republic has one more contest scheduled in the preliminary round against Switzerland on Tuesday before entering the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the Swedes will take on Latvia on Monday before finishing up preliminary play against Russia on Tuesday.

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Both Dallas Stars players are rolling right along at the World Championship so far. And with the quarterfinals beginning on Thursday, it’s the perfect time to start getting hot.

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