Nathan Bastian's brawl injected horsepower into the Stars' offense tonight

The Dallas Stars continued their homestand this week with a game against the Boston Bruins tonight. Things got off to a flat start as the Stars were looking to get their feet settled in the first period. There's nothing like a fight to get things going on offense. After Nathan Bastian dropped the gloves, the Stars scored on two power plays in the first period that jump-started the Stars' offense in the massive win over the Boston Bruins tonight. The Stars have officially snapped their losing streak.

What makes the win even better is that Mikko Rantanen was out of the lineup tonight due to the flu. I hope he gets better soon, but he can take all the time he needs, given how the Stars played tonight. 15-6 shots on goal in the first period by Dallas and a 64% faceoff percentage, I have to find out if the person who made the pregame meal is available for the remaining games this season. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's win over the Bruins.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins Recap: 4. Nathan Bastian drops the gloves

To get the crowd back into the game, Bastian decided it was time to jumpstart the crowd with a fight. After landing a couple of punches, Bastian got the takedown, and the crowd absolutely loved it. While it didn't jumpstart the Stars' offense immediately, it felt like the turning point in the game since the action on the ice was about dead. At least someone on the team was willing to drop the gloves for their teammates tonight. That might be someone the Stars look at the trade deadline.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins Recap: 3. Finally cashed in on the power play twice

After what seemed like ages since the Stars cashed in on the power play, they did tonight. It took until the second power play of the game when Wyatt Johnston cashed in on Jeremy Swayman. Mavrik Bourque followed up with a goal of his own at the end of the first period. While I doubt tonight's power play lines will remain after Rantanen gets back, the fact that the Stars were able to punish the Bruins with the extra-man advantage really got the Stars going.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins Recap: 2. Twice as many shots

The one thing I really loved about tonight's win against the Bruins is that the Stars had twice as many shots as the Bruins did for most of the game. The one thing I mentioned in the pregame was that the Stars had to get to Swayman as much as possible tonight. Even though one of the goals came from the blue line, they definitely were playing to break this losing streak tonight. Hopefully, tonight's win motivates the Stars to get a win streak going into the Olympic break.

Dallas Stars vs. Boston Bruins Recap: 1. Put Justin Hryckowian on the top line

I'm sorry, Sam Steel, but Justin Hryckowian just stole your spot on the top line. Justin was all over the place tonight and even scored a goal. I loved how he immediately went to celebrate with the team despite the video review. I think the Stars underpaid him for the next two seasons based on his energy level over the last eight games. The Stars have the day off before heading to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets. They will be going up against someone familiar to the Stars' organization.