Changes are coming.
Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock made that clear after a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
After an encouraging five-game win streak, the Stars have lost back-to-back games against Central Division opponents and have fallen to 0-6-0 against the top three teams in their division.
Stars captain Jamie Benn has also disappeared offensively. He hasn’t scored in eight games and has just one goal in his past 11.
After the top line had carried the Stars early in the season, the Stars now need to find a way to get their big guns re-charged.
“We’re gonna make some changes,” Hitchcock said. “The lineup we’re playing right now, we’re not getting much from (Tyler) Seguin’s line, and we’re not getting much across the board. The (Radek) Faksa line has really dialed it up, but we’re really not getting much else.”
Hitchcock said he still has to talk about the lineup, and didn’t say whether he would split up Seguin and Benn, but that seems highly possible.
So what about putting Faksa on the first line between Benn and Alexander Radulov?
The center, who has been underused this season, has been the Stars best forward for the past two weeks. He’s responsible defensively, can play against the other team’s top players, and his offensive game is based on both hard work and smart positioning.
Consider that Faksa is fourth on the team in points (16) and third in goals (10) without playing on the power play. Averaging just 13 minutes per game, Faksa has more than made the most of his opportunities.
So playing with Benn and Radulov could be the ideal fit, and the ideal reward for a player that has bought into Hitchcock’s game plan in all three zones.
Faksa has shown willingness to defer to his wingers as the primary puck carriers, which gives Benn and Radulov the puck more often. His work in front of the net and physicality adds a different element than Seguin’s free-shooting mentality, which also takes pressure off of Radulov to be the primary physical force on battles in the corner.
It would also put Benn with two of the hardest-working players on the team. If you aren’t motivated to work hard while skating with Faksa and Radulov, nothing can motivate you.
And moving Seguin to the so-called second line also isn’t a demotion. In today’s NHL you really need two scoring lines. You need to spread around the offense and Benn could still play with Radulov and Seguin on the power play.
Consider the following forward lines for Saturday’s tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights:
Jamie Benn — Radek Faksa — Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark — Tyler Seguin — Jason Spezza
Remi Elie — Devin Shore — Tyler Pitlick
Curtis McKenzie — Gemel Smith — Brett Ritchie
It’s a potential lineup that would re-unite Spezza with Janmark, a pair that have shown good chemistry, while Seguin would still be the primary shooter on his line.
The bottom-six keeps Elie and Pitlick together, while moving Shore back to center creates an opportunity, and frankly a test to see if he could drive his own line. The fourth line (and I’m assuming Antoine Roussel is still sick) works well together and puts together a trio of players that have played well together going back to their time in the AHL.
Hitchcock said it himself, the lineup hasn’t worked the past two games. Maybe moving Faksa up is the key.
Philip Rose says
Bingo. Both of those top lines have a shooter, a passer and a defensive forward. All of them are dangerous offensively.
This also gives Faksa the minutes he’s earned. It also puts one of the team’s best playmakers (Spezza) with talent that can finish, as opposed to grinders like McKenzie/Ritchie/Elie.
Once Hanzal is healthy again, drop him into Shore’s spot and move Shore to the 4th line.
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Sean Shapiro says
It’s unfortunate that Ritchie hasn’t turned into a finisher in the NHL. I had hoped that with his shot, he’d be able to step into that role this season and become a legitimate top-six lineup option.
Brad Gibson says
I guess Hitch has got to keep trying stuff. Throw something against the wall & see if it sticks.
What does seem very evident is that this team is not on level with the next team’s in the division & right now, they’re not even in the same zip code.
This seems to be a playoff team that is destined to lose to a quality team in the first round. It’s not a Cup contender.
That also begs the question: how much longer should Nill labor under the belief that we are in a championship window with Benn, Seguin, & Klingberg on the team?
In a salary cap league, the worst place to be is in the middle where you just make or just miss the playoffs. You never get access to elite talent at a cheap price tag & you don’t have a championship core that allows for leveraging assets to get a couple pieces that will put you over the top.
If Bishop & Rads weren’t enough to push the team to elite, what does it say about the “championship core”?
Sean Shapiro says
This a good question, and one I’ve been thinking about lately. It’s not that most ideal situation when in early December you are already thinking that the best playoff path would be a wild card spot that flips you over to the Pacific Division.
On the flip side, the NHL is a league where any team that makes it into the playoffs has a chance to make a run, it’s about being hot at the right time. The Stars in theory could be that team, and perhaps they could be an elite team if Hanzal ever finds the health/form they thought they were getting with him.
Either way, that core you talked about (Benn, Klingberg, etc…) needs to show up in games against St. Louis/Nashville/Winnipeg and they haven’t.
Zach Johnson says
Is putting Faksa between Benn and Radulov and different from last season when we (unsuccessfully) put Eakin between Benn and Seguin?
Sean Shapiro says
Radek Faksa is playing better (and is better) than Cody Eakin was at any point last season. In my opinion, it’s not forcing a role on a player, it’s rewarding a player that earned it.