Going into Friday’s Teddy Bear Toss game, Texas had been having an inconsistent season despite the team’s depth up front. Matej Blumel scored the Teddy Bear goal with a great shot seven minutes into the game.
MATEJ BLUMEL SENDS THE TEDDY BEARS FLYING! 🧸 pic.twitter.com/n3V4h9U4rL
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) December 14, 2024
Justin Hryckowian has shown extreme progress as an AHL rookie, playing top-line minutes. He scored two key goals early in the second period to put Texas up 3-2. Texas was up 4-3 going into the third period but could not hold its lead (a trend this season) and ultimately lost overtime off a 2-on-1 rush goal from Chicago’s Justin Robidas (son of former Stars' defenseman Stéphane Robidas).
With such a short turnaround each weekend in the AHL, Texas needed to come out strong on Saturday to split the series.
In Saturday’s game, Texas went into the 3rd period tied 1-1 before Antonio Stranges batted a puck out of mid-air to put Texas up 2-1. Ten minutes later, the game was already 4-3 Chicago, with back-and-forth action, eventually concluding 4-3 without any late-game heroics from the Stars.
It’s an unfortunate way to end the weekend, and it is unclear if Texas can surely beat any team in this league, even teams like Chicago and Henderson, who started the year slow. The AHL is a competitive and parity-filled league, but at the same time, good teams separate themselves from the crop and prove each night that they are the better team. I challenge Texas to find that ‘extra gear’ to preserve leads or find that ‘comeback kid’ energy going forward.
Chicago went 3/7 (43%) on the Power Play this weekend despite having one of the worst PPs in the league this year (13.7% total, 4th-worst). Texas’ PK continues to concede key goals, as they now hold the 25th-ranked PK out of 32 teams (79.2%) following this weekend.
Texas has scored 21 Power Play goals and 20 against, practically nullifying Special Teams for the Stars. You should be out-doing opponents in Special Teams trade-offs to give yourself an advantage.’
Justin Ertel made his AHL debut on Saturday, playing with Matt Seminoff and Jack Becker on the 4th line. Francesco Arcuri is back in ECHL Idaho, where he was pretty successful offensively last season, so I will keep an eye out for AHL transactions involving these players, as both could be up and down often this year.
We’ve discussed Antonio Stranges at length this year because of his high-level, consistent showings. Stranges has been playing top-line AHL minutes against top competition for a while now and is still thriving. He is now up to 26 points in 21 games, 6th in AHL scoring.
Furthermore, as of December 15th, Antonio Stranges is currently 3rd in AHL Points Per Game (P/GP) with 1.24, behind only Vinnie Hinostroza (1.33) and Alex Steves (1.57) among all active AHL skaters to play more than ten games this year. Based on this, one could argue that Antonio Stranges is the 3rd most efficient producer in the entire AHL. This has been an incredible start to the season for Stranges, and I wish him the best in the future.
Player of the week: Justin Hryckowian
Week Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
23 | 8 | 14 | 22 |
Overall, Texas has shown some bright spots but has been unable to build momentum this season, failing to earn points in important games. Guided by the top line of Stranges-Hryckowian-Lind, the Texas Stars are showing some chemistry on offense that may not have ‘clicked’ earlier in the season. Even still, the team results are underwhelming.
Considering individual player development vs. team success is something that analysts around the league continue to discuss, unsure of each team’s goals. If Texas continued their inconsistent team trends, losing to teams like Chicago and Henderson, below Texas in the AHL standings, there would be less confidence going into the playoffs that this year’s Texas squad is different from years past.
I would like to believe this year’s Texas squad is different than years past, even without Mavrik Bourque, Logan Stankoven, etc. on the roster. I look forward to seeing the team’s search for consistency as we move closer to the second half of the season. Let’s finish strong this week before the holiday break.
Week ahead:
- Tue Dec 17, 2024 vs. Grand Rapids
- Wed Dec 18, 2024 vs. Grand Rapids
- Sat Dec 21, 2024 @ Milwaukee
- Sun Dec 22, 2024 @ Grand Rapids