Dallas Stars Daily Links: Do the Stars Have the Best Fourth Line in Hockey?

Disclaimer: I haven’t watched every NHL game this season, so I admittedly have no idea how each teams’ fourth lines stack up against each other.

That being said, it is hard to imagine that there is a fourth line out there that is performing as well as the Dallas Stars’ trio of Antoine Roussel, Radek Faksa, and Tyler Pitlick. They may not be getting big minutes, but they’re making a huge impact on the team, as we saw against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday:

They continued to prove that in a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday as Tyler Pitlick scored twice, and the line now has goals in three straight games.

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Goals were just the highlights of a complete performance for the line, which had maximum impact in roughly 11 minutes of ice and Ken Hitchcock said it was the best line on either team.

So given how well the line’s been performing, should we expect an uptick in their usage throughout the next couple games? It’s quite possible considering Ken Hitchcock still hasn’t found the right combinations for his second and third lines, leading to mixed results.

Essentially the Stars have reached a spot where the middle-six are a tweak or two away from being worked out. The top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov are in good shape. So is the Faksa line, as discussed before, now the Stars are looking for more consistent play from the so-called middle line.

You can read more from Sean Shapiro about Saturday’s game here.

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Other Stars News

I’m not quite sure what to say about this, other than that it’s definitely not a cowboy hat...

You can see Pitlick wear the helmet in all its glory (for a few seconds) in his post-game interview:

Good news, everyone: looks like Shapiro and Owen Newkirk’s “Carcast” is officially a thing. [Wrong Side of the Red Line]

Mark Stepneski has more post-game quotes than you’ll know what to do with from Saturday. [Between the Blue Lines]

It’s time for another installment of Razor’s Emporium:

The Texas Stars’ had a rough 3 game series against the San Antonio Rampage this weekend, picking up just a single point. Here’s the recap from last night’s 3-1 loss: [Texas Stars]

Despite missing a few games to start the season, Miro Heiskanen doesn’t seem to have missed a beat:

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Around the League

Craig Morgan breaks down some takeaways from the first tenth of the season, giving a much deserved shout out to Stars’ goaltender Ben Bishop. [FanRag Sports]

The Vegas Golden Knights are currently 6-1-0, tied for fourth in the league with 12 points, but they’ve lost yet another goalie due to injury:

Even with Malcolm Subban out, could Vegas keep winning? James O’Brien investigates: [NBC Sports]

Speaking of goaltending woes, the Pittsburgh Penguins took a gamble on former Star Antti Niemi this past offseason, and it’s not working out. [Sportsnet]

None of the players dropped the gloves on Saturday when the Maple Leafs and Senators squared off, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any fights:

It was a quiet Sunday for the NHL; the only game featured a Vancouver Canucks win over the Detroit Red Wings. [NHL]

Is there such a thing as a “normal” development path to the the NHL? Hannah Stuart doesn’t think so. [Fanrag Sports]

Think of it as an extended offseason: Roman Polak is back with Toronto.

Not sure what to expect from the rookies this year in Fantasy? Ian Gooding and and Mike Clifford discuss the young guys in their “20 Fantasy Thoughts” column. [Sportsnet]

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Finally...

Always nice to end off Links with a heart warmer: Stephen Johns handed out gift cards to random American Airlines Center employees.