DALLAS — Throughout the preseason one thing has remained consistent for the Dallas Stars — Jamie Oleksiak continues to impress Ken Hitchcock.
That trend continued on Monday when the Stars fell to the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in their third preseason game.
Hitchcock has indicated multiple times that Oleksiak would be a nice fit on the right side, which is where he had played in prior preseason games. On Monday he was playing on the left side with Stephen Johns, which only boosted Oleksiak’s stock in Hitchcock’s mind.
“That’s an evaluation on a couple of other guys. To me we’ve made up our mind on Jamie,” Hitchcock said of Oleksiak on the left side. “I’ve been pretty direct on that. He’s had an outstanding camp, he’s played great. He’s just sound as heck. So we’ve moved past our evaluation on him and looking at other people.”
“We now know Jamie can play on both sides,” Hitchcock added. “I think he’s as good on the right as he is on the left. So it’s a real good add for us.”
On Monday Oleksiak had 25 shifts for 17 minutes, 48 seconds of ice time. He had one hit and was at fault when Matt Nieto scored on a rebound in the second period.
What does this mean for the rest of the defenders fighting for a spot?
Hitchcock said Johns had a great game and has had back-to-back strong performances, that’s a good sign for his inclusion in the opening night lineup.
Julius Honka scored a goal and had a game-high 13 shot attempts. But he also turned the puck over leading to an empty net goal. Honka comes with a high risk vs. reward factor, but he’s also the most skilled offensive player the Stars have on the blue line.
“He’s like a young player that deferred to a more experienced player (on the turnover). A week from now he’s going to shoot that puck and we’re probably going to be facing off at center ice,” Hitchcock said. “He brings a dynamic that not many teams have. We’re down two goals and he’s controlling the hockey game, which is exactly what we’re gonna need. It’s going to be a grind for him, he’s not a big player. But he’s getting better everyday.”
Hitchcock won’t say it and defers to Nill on AHL assignments, but if Honka isn’t in the top-six defenders he’s likely going to start the season in the AHL with the Texas Stars.
Postgame Thoughts
Bishop rebounds
Ben Bishop allowed a goal on the first shot he faced but responded with a strong performance and stopped 20 of the final 22 shots he faced.
“Kind of a tough one off Jamie (Benn) on the first one, but then I felt pretty good and I felt better than I did in the first game,” Bishop said. “Still a little bit of rust on there. There is some good, there is some bad. But it was better than the first game and hopefully the next game will be a little bit better.”
In the first period Bishop stretched out his right pad to thwart a point-blank chance by Matt Duchene.
In the second period a hard bounce off the end boards nearly caught Bishop of out position, but he recoverd and made a quick glove save on Mikko Rantanen.
Bishop made another save on Rantanen in the third period while shorthanded, sliding from right to left to stop the shot.
Battle for the lineup
A couple young players had nice showings against Colorado, including Remi Elie and Gemel Smith. Roope Hintz also continued his strong preseason and had a couple nice chances in the loss.
It’s something to track in Tuesday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Wild. Hitchcock said that if a young player is playing in the back-to-back, the coaching staff is likely taking a long look at them to make the roster.
The goals
First Period
0:30 Nathan MacKinnon’s wrist shot deflected off Jamie Benn and past Ben Bishop. Avalanche 1, Stars 0
15:51 Devin Shore was sprung on a stretch pass by John Klingberg. Shore’s shot went wide and took a hard bounce off the boards, went back through the crease and through Jonathan Berenier’s legs to Brett Ritchie, who scored on a wrist shot. Stars 1, Avalanche 1
Second period
14:45 Matt Nieto beat Ben Bishop with wrist shot on a 2-on-1 rush. Avalanche 2, Stars 1
19:13 Alexander Kerfoot scored on a rebound. Ben Bishop made two initial saves, but the rookie was able to get the final chance over Bishop’s pad. Avalanche 3, Stars 1
Third period
1:12 Julius Honka showed off his offensive ability and beat Semyon Varlamov with a wrist shot after juking around a couple defenders. Avalanche 3, Stars 2
19:23 Mikko Rantenen scored into the empty net. Avalanche 4, Stars 2
Stars lineup:
Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Alexander Radulov
Devin Shore — Roope Hintz — Brett Ritchie
Remi Elie — Adam Cracknell — Denis Gurianov
Curtis McKenzie — Gemel Smith — RJ Umberger
Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak — Stephen Johns
Patrik Nemeth — Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Kari Lehtonen
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