Casey DeSmith made his Dallas Stars debut on Sunday evening, continuing what Jake Oettinger started in the team’s net. The result – two straight shutouts.
Of course, those games were against the New York Islanders and the Seattle Kraken, both teams that are expected to struggle offensively this season. Tuesday night, enter the San Jose Sharks, a team that just got shutout by the Anaheim Ducks.
Worse yet – at least as a fan of hockey – number one overall draftpick Macklin Celebrini is week to week and on injured reserve. Joining him as walking wounded are Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both of whom were slated to play a role way above their age defined pay grade – but nonetheless, their absence pushes other players up the lineup into spots where they are going to have to struggle to succeed.
I know – these are all classic markers of a trap game. End of the homestand against a team that has no business winning against a team that has caught every conceivable break during its 3-0-0 start to the season.
Its early enough in the season for Pete DeBoer to sell this game as a way to focus on fundamentals and areas when the team could improve. The top line hasn’t made an impact as of yet, and now that Mavrik Bourque is ready, there are some lineup combinations that could and should be tried. Maybe challenge Mason Marchment to stay out of the box.
The teams advanced stats haven’t been spectacular during the first three games. Sure – score effects, but also, Dallas is a team that knows how to play with its food when given the opportunity. A solid 60 minutes in a game that the team should win would say a lot about the group’s focus and commitment to playing winning hockey.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Wyatt Johnston (53)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Jamie Benn (14) – Mavrik Bourque (22) – Logan Stankoven (11)
Oskar Bäck (21) – Sam Steel (18) – Colin Blackwell (15)
Thomas Harley (55) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Brendan Smith (2) – Ilya Lyubushkin (46)
Esa Lindell (23) – Nils Lundqvist (5)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Casey DeSmith (1)
Regular season Brendan Smith was better than preseason Brendan Smith. Nils Lundqvist paired with Esa Lindell has been sheltered, but with positive results.
Tyler Seguin tweeked something on Sunday night (I specifically remember him catching a skate and going down awkwardly when defending a toe drag/shot in the third period against the Kraken). Turns out, Mavrik Bourque is ready to go – so Dallas still has a full complement of forwards. The above is my best guess as to how this sorts out.
Also, Alex Petrovic got a call up – an indication that Matt Dumba is a bit worse off than day to day. Petrovic has experience as RD to Harley’s LD, but for tonight, expect the same lineup as Sunday night.
San Jose Sharks Lineup
William Eklund (72) – Mikael Granlund (64) – Tyler Toffoli (73)
Klim Kostin (10) – Will Smith (2) – Fabian Zetterlund (20)
Barclay Goodrow (23) – Alex Wennberg (21) – Luke Kunin (11)
Carl Grundstrom (91) – Nico Sturm (7) – Ty Dellandrea (53)
Jake Walman (96) – Cody Ceci (4)
Mario Ferraro (38) – Jan Rutta (84)
Henry Thrun (3) –Matt Benning (5)
MacKenzie Blackwood (29)
Vitek Vanecek (41)
Dellandrea makes an early season return to American Airlines Center and should get a warm welcome. Playing for San Jose should remind him of his early days with the Flint Firebirds. For now, he’s getting ice time, which is something that he couldn’t get in Dallas last year.
Blackwood and Vanecek are operating as 1A and 1B. Given the defense in front of them, it’s hard to see either having decent numbers for the season. At some point, Yaroslav Askarov will get his shot at the net. The highly regarded prospect (and self proclaimed “character”) is still in the AHL, but is about as NHL ready as he’ll ever be. The team may just not want to bring him up with this defense in front of him.
Texas Stars fans know Askarov well, after his stint with the Milwaukee Admirals. For Stars fans, the most enjoyable part being a goalie fight with Remi Poirier that didn’t go the Russian’s way.
Things to Watch
Logan Stankoven.
Stankoven’s play is the classic eye test vs. stats comparison. The rookie leads the team with four assists and sits at +3 on the season. But look at NaturalStatTrick or Hockeyviz, and he’s the worst player on the team – including an expected goal share in the 25% range. The positive hype is there (and truth be told, I’ve been on board), but something doesn’t add up. Nothing like some concentrated watching of number 11 to identify why the conflicting views.
Penalty Kill.
Another area where the numbers are good, but my eye test is suspicious. The team is allowing opposing power plays into dangerous areas and they’re giving up passes through the slot. Worth a more in depth look.
Ty Dellandrea (and Will Smith).
OK – Dellandrea just because I want to see how he’s fitting in with his new team. Smith gets to sub in for Celebrini – if you can’t watch the number one overall pick, watch the number four overall pick.