Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: “Almost Too Much Good” In Stars’ Defeat of Sabres, Says Mike Heika

Posted on by Melissa Flandreau

With a 3-0 shutout of the Sabres last night, the Stars made it five straight wins. What should we talk about first? Well, you could start a lot of places. In fact, Mike Heika says, there was “almost too much good to keep track of,” from Antoine Roussel scoring on his birthday to Jamie Oleksiak’s effort.

But perhaps the best thing that happened was something that didn’t actually happen: The Stars avoided a collapse in the third period.

That’s been a consistent storyline this season, and a refreshing one after Dallas had one of the worst third period goal differentials in the NHL last season, getting outscored 101-74 in that frame. But so much has changed since last season, and so much has been learned.

“We definitely learned as a group last year,” said Benn, who scored once on a power play rebound and once in transition off a nice pass from Tyler Seguin. “You definitely have to play a full 60 minutes or you’re not going to win in this league. At points last year, I think we thought we could just score and then it would be over. We learned our lesson; we’re a new group this year.”

Antti Niemi also commented on the Stars’ new-found ability to finish games strong.

“I wasn’t here last year, but I have heard a lot about it. Kari (Lehtonen) talks about it, and I see it, our confidence is growing in third periods. We go in and there is no panic, we just want to do our job and win the game.”

For more on the win, head to the link. [SportsDayDFW]

—

If you weren’t at the game last night to pick up your 2016 calendar, never fear.

Razor offered his take on the Stars’ shutout.

Coach Lindy Ruff provided a quick update on Jason Demers, who left the game in the second period.

The Buffalo News took a look at what kind of captain Jamie Benn is—and if you’re asking Benn himself, the answer to that question is “a quiet one.” [The Buffalo News]

Sabres coach Dan Bylsma chatted about Jack Eichel, LinkedIn, and whether he’s ever going to reveal where his “Disco Dan” nickname came from. [Puck Daddy]

Congratulations are in order for Patrick Marleau, who recorded his 1,000th career point last night. [NHL]

Here’s your MDK update, courtesy of Blackhawks beat reporter Mark Lazerus. (Chicago also lost 6-3 to Vancouver.)

The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa says that the Bruins‘ decision of what to do about Loui Eriksson will be the most important one. [Boston Globe]

Over at The Hockey News, Jared Clinton says that the Blackhawks’ young guns have made Trevor Daley “expendable.”(Fearless leader Josh also shared his thoughts on how Chicago has handled the former Stars defenseman.) [The Hockey News]

The #fancystats aren’t coming out in favor of the Avalanche (surprise, surprise) or the Sharks. [Sports Illustrated]

Speaking of the Avs… They’re probably still scratching their heads over this goal by Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov.

The Predators know that if they want to contend for the Stanley Cup, then they’ll have to rev up their offense. [Puck Daddy]

One NHL scout blamed the Jets’ “undisciplined” play for their early season struggles. [Sportsnet]

And those struggles continued for Winnipeg last night. Despite their win against Arizona, goaltender Ondrej Pavalec left the game after a collision with Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

Don’t expect Adidas to make any dramatic jersey changes—at least at first. [THN]

And finally, just in case you’ve forgotten how good the Stars’ first quarter of the season has been…

Talking Points