Remember when people were worried Joe Pavelski would be a bust in Dallas?
The Dallas Stars forward scored a career-high five points in Wednesday’s win over the Seattle Kraken. Not only that, but he is now on an 87 point pace for the season, which would shatter his current career high of 79 points.
“It’s his ability to sniff out loose pucks, his ability to get out into the open,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “His anticipation of where that puck is going. Great poise around the net. Goal scorers know where to put the puck. You can put other guys in those situations and they’re not going to have the natural instinct in order to put the puck past the goalie.”
Of course, one player can only do so much. Stellar play from Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz that is helping Pavelski light up the scoreboard as a 37 year old:
“We’ve been on a good run,” Pavelski said. “We expect to produce every night. We expect to play hard. That’s been the biggest thing, haven’t had to say a whole lot. The compete has been there from all three of us and guys are making plays and feeding off each other.”
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Around the League
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pavelski was also named the Stars’ lone representative for the NHL All-Star game:
It’s the fourth #NHLAllStar nod for Captain America, but his first as a Dallas Star.
⭐️: https://t.co/VRQNcRhbmp pic.twitter.com/QOllC3Tsi2
— Dallas Stars VOTE ROBO 🤖 (@DallasStars) January 14, 2022
There’s still a chance for Robertson to make it, however:
Let’s send @JasonRob1999 to Vegas! 🎰
Jason Robertson is a candidate for the #NHLAllStar Last Man In ✅
🗳 https://t.co/Ez1UIsoCqG pic.twitter.com/aWpquWNxP6
— Dallas Stars VOTE ROBO 🤖 (@DallasStars) January 13, 2022
Dallas takes on the Florida Panthers tonight to try and get another win streak started:
How to watch Stars vs. Panthers: Live stream, game time, TV channel https://t.co/12XrzbVplZ via @NHLdotcom
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) January 14, 2022
Around the League
A few Central Division teams played last night:
- The St. Louis Blues edged out the Seattle Kraken for a 2-1 victory. [Davy Jones Locker Room]
- Meanwhile the Nashville Predators got pummeled 4-1 by the… Buffalo Sabres? [Die by the Blade]
- It took overtime, but the Chicago Blackhawks took down the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. [Second City Hockey]/
Come for the power rankings, stay for the player cards:
If you enjoyed the player cards @domluszczyszyn and @hayyyshayyy put together, you’re going to love this week’s power rankings.
To add some nuance to the rankings, @seangentille picks the most interesting player card for each team.
Analytics, anyone?
📚 https://t.co/PR5Uw8B4nJ pic.twitter.com/5giUiIqfNl
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 14, 2022
Team USA has revealed it’s roster for the Olympics:
Introducing the 25 men headed to Beijing! 👏#WinterOlympics | @TeamUSA 🇺🇸
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 13, 2022
Adam Proteau discusses the Stars’ cap situation heading into the deadline and more:
The Dallas Stars have some work to do, Toronto’s defense is holding strong and Nazem Kadri’s contract negations are about to get interesting. @Proteautype is back with another Screen Shots column: https://t.co/QvvnfEgWol pic.twitter.com/U107I0BB1X
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 13, 2022
Who doesn’t love discussing All-Star snubs?
The NHL All-Star Game rosters had surprises and some MAJOR SNUBS. Here’s yours truly, @emilymkaplan and @kristen_shilton with our ASG reaction. https://t.co/q43blZ9eNT
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 14, 2022