DALLAS — The best line of 2017 set a strong foundation for 2018 in the Dallas Stars 6-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on New Year’s Eve.
Tyler Pitlick scored twice, Radek Faksa had a trio of assists, and Antoine Roussel was, well, Antoine Roussel on Sunday.
“Well they play every night they play against the other team’s best players, they’re winning a lot of those shifts every night, they’re huge for us,” Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. “We know Faksa is a really good player and he gets Rous and Pits going, so they’re a really good shut down line, they’re scoring goals for us so they’re going to be huge for us in 2018 as well.”
In a season where Ken Hitchcock has juggled lines on nearly a daily basis, that trio has been the one constant amongst the forward groups. There minutes have gone up throughout the season, and those minutes have often come against the other team’s top lines.
Essentially the Faksa line has become the key that unlocks the lineup the way that Hitchcock had hoped Martin Hanzal would.
“I don’t think you can be a good third line in the League unless you can score. You have to be able to chip in and you have to be able to score,” Hitchcock said. “In the last two games, they have gone back on the attack. I thought this was [Tyler] Pitlick’s strongest game. He stayed determined on the puck like he did before. They’ve got skill and have ability to make plays off the rush. When you are playing the role they play, they are going to get odd-man rushes. They were too conservative for a week or 10 days, but they are back playing with flair now again. That’s a good sign.”
Happy New Year
New Year’s Eve has turned into a special night on the schedule for the Stars.
One of the most famous game in franchise history — the Hullenium, when Brett Hull scored the final two goals in 1999 — and Dallas is 13-5-2 on the final night of the year since moving to Dallas before the 1993-94 season.
Hitchcock wasn’t aware of the Stars stellar record on the holiday, but he said he’s starting to see a positive atmosphere in the stands, no matter what the day is.
“It seems every time you look up it’s a full building, and it’s a crowd that they’re helping us a lot because they’re really into it,” Hitchcock said. “I think the players appreciate the support, and I think it works in a good way the other way that the players are feeding off of that energy. The biggest thing for me is that the fans are starting to see that this is a team that now has an identity, and they can see it on the ice. They can see the way we play, and I think they’re really into what we’re doing right now.”
Defense jumping in
Klingberg may be the biggest name, but all of the Stars defense have seemed to find confidence with the puck on their stick.
On Sunday the blue liners combined for 11 shots, including four by Johns — who scored his fourth goal of the season.
“It’s way easier to play five as a unit than three and two so something we can work on to get on more involved defenseman and forwards to create goals,” Mattias Janmark, who had two assists said.
Johns in particular has been shooting more lately. It’s not a full-blown green light, but he’s been given more chances to fire away.
“I’ve always felt, I think all of us have felt, that he’s got a bomb from the point, he’s very creative, but what Rick’s (Wilson) done since Day 1 is try to build a foundation,” Hitchcock said. “He’s tried to build a defending foundation, and now he’s starting to allow him to — I would say he’s a player that we allow with the yellow light. Not a green light, but he’s allowed a yellow light. Rick started with a red light just to get him to build a foundation. He’s getting better and better at it.”
Odds and ends
— Alexander Radulov left the game with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. It was just a precautionary move by the Stars with a 4-0 lead and he should be able to play next game.
— Dan Hamhuis left the game in the second period after taking the stick to the face, but returned in the third period. “It was a scary thing. We were concerned there, but vision came back right away so he was able to play,” Hitchcock said.
— Ben Bishop has two shutouts in his past five games, his four shutouts now rank second in the NHL behind his former teammate, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Bishop now has points in 10 of his last 12 games (9-2-1) on home ice with three shutouts over that span.
— Jamie Benn recorded two assists (0-2=2) tonight against the Sharks and is now riding a six-game point streak (3-5=8) with 16 points (5-11=16) over his last 15 games. The captain is riding an eight-game point streak (4-6=10) on home ice and has inked the scoresheet in 11 of his last 13 home games (6-8=14). This season, Benn leads the Stars with 37 points (16-21=37) in 40 games.
— The Stars have an off day tomorrow, but we will have a defining play story in the morning and a fun feature on Devin Shore the actor, which should publish in the afternoon. The team returns to the ice on Tuesday for morning skate before the game against the Columbus Blues Jackets.
— And a personal note: Thanks to everyone that read a story, listened to a podcast, and interacted on Twitter with my Stars coverage during 2017. It was my first full calendar year on the beat (got my call-up from the AHL before the start of the 2016-17 season), and it was a blast. Thanks to all those who have subscribed and supported this site, and I’m looking forward to expanding our coverage in 2018.
So a happy and healthy to all in 2018.
Smith says
Thanks for the content! You and DBD are my two almost-daily visits. Your stuff is well worth the subscription. I count the Rangers and (newly added) Cowboys stuff as bonus. Best of luck in the new year.
Sean Shapiro says
Thank you, have a Happy New Year!