Game 33 AfterThoughts: Utah Refreshment
Under Peter DeBoer, the Stars have yet to lose three games in a row in regulation during the regular season.
That streak has to be qualified because of the Edmonton series last spring, when the Stars lost three straight games to end their season with a 4-2 series loss to the Oilers after being up 2-1. But it is December, so let’s focus on what’s going on right here, and right now.
Or at least, what’s going on right there, in Utah. And by “right now,” I mean “a few hours ago,” when I was watching the game in between moments with family. It’s been a lighter few days in terms of writing here at Stars Thoughts, but I’m back in town on the 26th, so we’ll return to full strength just when you’re finally considering eating a salad again.
Anyway, let’s talk about how the Stars got back in the win column after a rough couple of games with a tough road win that felt eerily reminiscent of their last win in Utah, when the team was still in the process of recovering from ugly losses to Carolina and Chicago during Thanksgiving week.
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The first period wasn’t great for Dallas. Utah had jump, and the Stars had to weather the storm with Casey DeSmith not exactly getting a leisurely return to the crease. But the team that had played the previous night began to falter in the second period, and because DeSmith was absolutely excellent in his first start in ages, the Stars were able to claw back ahead before hanging on for dear life in the final period.
DeBoer called it a “gritty road win,” which it was. It took a lot of people fighting for each other and making great plays to get the win, and that’s something this team cannot take for granted.
It’s also a little disappointing not to see the Stars building on the second period a bit more. But hey, you get them however you can, and this one was badly needed. DeSmith let in a couple of goals from distance with screens/deflections, but because Dallas scored three goals, they weren’t enough to dampen the mood. It’s always refreshing to see what a little proactive goal-scoring can do for the collective mood.
By the way, I think it’s telling how quickly the Stars came to Casey DeSmith’s defense after he got whacked with a late stick on a save. It’s especially telling when compared to how relatively little grief Blackwell got for crashing into Karel Vejmaleka. People notice those things, I think.
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Colin Blackwell was also quite noticeable in this game. He drew a penalty, scored a goal, and generally led his team into the fight. It’s easy to praise fourth-line players, given how much less opportunity they have to be overmatched, but the Stars have needed scoring wherever they can get it, and it was very reassuring to see Blackwell go bar-down on a 2-on-1 with Sam Steel (whose persistent forecheck along with Oskar Bäck’s help caused the turnover to begin with). If Blackwell isn’t lacking confidence to shoot and score, then surely this team has it within themselves to follow his lead.
In fact, Blackwell was moved up to the second line on Duchene’s right wing to start the second period, and that’s where he finished the game (with a short spell inside Vejmelka’s head after crashing the net, too). I’ve been watching the Stars’ right-wing shuffles for the past few games, and with Mavrik Bourque still up beside Roope Hintz, I genuinely believe the Stars are willing to put everything on the table right now in terms of figuring out how to get their scoring back into a rhythm. If that means Logan Stankoven has to play with Oskar Bäck for a little while, then so be it, and that’s what he did tonight.
Stankoven started the game up with Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn, but after Blackwell moved up to the second line, Dadonov then displaced Stankoven. But hey, Bäck has eight assists this year, so it’s not like he can’t set up a buddy here and there. In fact, did you know Oskar Bäck has more assists this season than Roope Hintz? I don’t understand it either, but it’s true. Here’s hoping Stankoven can get going again, wherever he’s playing.
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Speaking of Bourque, I wanted to go over a read he made on the Stars’ second goal.
After Roope Hintz fought through some bodies along the wall, Hintz might have found himself with a loose puck to gather and Bourque waiting for a pass while fairly stationary in the slot. It wouldn’t have been a bad chance, but it would have been quite predictable. And there was also no guarantee Hintz would escape from the boards with enough momentum to gather the puck himself.
So Bourque made a bold choice to come over to grab the puck, freeing up Hintz to bust to the net:
Bourque then heads at the goaltender Karel Vejmelka (who has to defend the near post) before smoothly passing to Hintz for a fantastic scoring chance that Hintz buries:
The other reason this play helps improve the scoring chance is because of handedness. Bourque is a right-shot, which means he can quickly feed the puck to his left, while Hintz can also receive it and go over Vejmelka’s far shoulder, which he did.
Everything worked out to the Stars’ benefit here, but it all started with a great read by Bourque to go to the puck rather than staying in a safe position and hoping someone else would do the work. That’s a primary assist, all right.
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Mason Marchment took the Stars’ only two penalties tonight. And like Duchene, Marchment has indeed cooled off a bit in Tyler Seguin’s absence. Marchment’s last six games have contained 0 points, 8 PIM, and a -6 plus/minus rating.
It’s only six games, but the Stars could’ve really used a clutch contribution during the last week or two from one of their hottest players a few weeks back. Here’s hoping Marchment can start spending more time back in the fist-bump line and less in the penalty box. He’s simply too valuable for the team to really go on a good run without him in top form.
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Lian Bichsel was loaned to Cedar Park right after this game, which will allow the Stars to accrue a bit more cap space until his potential recall for Friday’s game back in Dallas against Minnesota.
Two things make the recall a “potential” one: First, that Matt Dumba is once again practicing with the team, with a full face cage. And second, the fact that Bichsel has had some teachable moments lately that seem to reinforce his decrease in usage over the last two games, in which he has played a bit over 10 minutes and 12 minutes in consecutive contests after playing his first four games all in the 14-16 minute range.
One such moment came on this chance by Clayton Keller in the first period. Bichsel is defending the puck-carrier (Keller), with Thomas Harley coming over to help. It’s not quite a 2-on-1, but it’s close enough to it:
Then Keller passes it to Michael Kesselring, and the puck gets knocked down a bit by Harley before trickling over to Kesselring, causing Bichsel to turn to face Kesselring and the net, probably to see if he can get a poke-check in on Kesselring before he shoots.
As Kesselring gathers the puck, you can see Bichsel staring at it, too. But the problem is that Kesselring will not have the puck for long, and that causes Bichsel to wind up not having really taken either man.
You can see Bichsel kind of skated himself out of the play here, as Keller got the puck right back on his tape (where it is now) for a shot. Casey DeSmith made the stop, but it’s not a video I’d imagine Bichsel will enjoy watching, even though he of course isn’t the only one who could have done better on it (as Harley would readily admit).
Anyway, I still think it’s likely that Bichsel is back up with Dallas for their next game, but the Stars haven’t really seemed to want to roll with eight defensemen every game if they can get away with seven. Maybe Bichsel has made himself indispensable from this point forward, but I tend to think the roster situation has allowed for more of a prolonged look than anything. Either way, Bichsel will be here in April, so it’s just about how the team thinks they can get there. Fun decision to make, that one.
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Wyatt Johnston had another fantastic game where he didn’t score, but where he did set up Jamie Benn with some brilliant skating and vision. Utah didn’t play it well at all, but great players don’t have to only get credit for beating other great ones. Sometimes the whole point of talent is to be able to exploit advantages, and that’s what Johnston did to Jusso Välimäki on Jamie Benn’s goal.
Johnston also won a couple of key faceoffs late in the game, and he also took a puck right to the net on the power play rather than looking to take a couple of steps and pass it off. That’s the sort of play that creates a net-front scrum with great rebound opportunities, and I would bet a lot of money that Dallas has talked about doing that very exact thing. Anyway, it was not the first very quietly dominant game by Johnston, but they never do get old.
The power play also benefited from Johnston’s passing, though not on the scoresheet. This was a night where it was clear the power play was executing some plans, but they just weren’t getting the puck in the net. I am not any more worried about the power play than I was the other night. I am the same amount of worried, which is more than “zero” and less than “fire everyone.” I think this is a case where, as DeBoer said this morning, they have the guys they need, and now they just have to get them going. I continue to refuse to bet against the top-end players to finally get back to their level of play. Though it is not getting any earlier around here.
Well, actually it is getting earlier, since we’re past the winter solstice. Or at least, we’re getting more sunlight. Is that the same as it getting earlier? I think so. Don’t pretend like you understand the movements of heavenly bodies any more than I do. Don’t even pretend that.
Now the Stars have a couple of days off (that’s astronomy we can all agree on) before the Minnesota Wild come into town later this week. Perhaps the flu bug will still be kicking around by then, but that game is pretty darn massive in terms of the Stars’ regaining the ground they’ve lost lately in terms of the playoff race. Also in terms of, it is Minnesota, and everyone in Dallas wants to see them lose, always. Those are the best terms of all, really.