It’s about 175 degrees outside in North Texas right now, so it’s a great time to be on ice. And the Dallas Stars seem to be loving every moment as training camp begins, and the playoffs appear over the horizon at last.
Interim head coach Rick Bowness and his staff are finally getting an opportunity to demonstrate the offensive changes they’ve been talking about for months. The results could be spectacular up front, as reported by Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika:
The tweaks the coaching staff made were noticeable. Leading scorer Tyler Seguin skated on the right wing with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov. All three players have speed, and moving Seguin from center to wing allows the trio to try an alignment that hasn’t yet been tested.
“That’s a very fast line,” Bowness said. “That’s great speed up front, so we want to take a look at it and see what it looks like. What that line has in terms of speed is going to intimidate a lot of teams.”
The coaching staff hasn’t neglected depth scoring in its quarantine brainstorming, either. With the FCC Line of Radek Faksa, Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano returning intact, Bowness has asembled a puck-possession lline of Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov and Mattias Janmark:
“They didn’t play a whole lot together, but when they did, they obviously had results,” Bowness said. “If we can generate time in the zone with those guys and generate quality chances, we’re confident the puck will go in the net for us.”
Pavelski and Radulov are second and third among forwards on the team in terms of time on ice, so that could be the top line or the fourth line, but that’s the kind of balance Bowness is looking for.
“We want to roll four lines, and we want to be consistent,” he said. “That’s what we’re working toward.”
There’s more at Mike’s place, once again. Good times. Good times. [Dallas Stars]
Stars Stuff
Matthew DeFranks examines the first signs of Bowness’ new system.
NEW from @MDeFranks:
Dallas Stars’ interim coach Rick Bowness alters offensive strategy in first day of training camp. #GoStars https://t.co/fXghQQ7fJG
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) July 14, 2020
First things first – check out the new enhancements in Comerica Center.
Ben Bishop on the ice to start training camp. Plus Stars now have retired numbers in practice rink. pic.twitter.com/ZnepaDQfJk
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) July 13, 2020
Admit it, you’ve missed arguing about extra-man configurations.
Stars working power play right now. Here are your units:
1. Klingberg, Benn, Seguin, Pavelski, Radulov
2. Heiskanen, Hintz, Gurianov, Perry, Faksa
3. Lindell, Johns, Dowling, Janmark, Robertson— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) July 13, 2020
Brent Severyn brought some color commentary to opening day.
Stars first session today clearly based on offensive attacks. Activation of defense, offensive formations into the zone and proper support in offensive zone. No secret Rick Bowness talked coming into today of creating more offense for his team.
— Brent Severyn (@BrentSeveryn) July 13, 2020
Hands up, who thinks Jamie Benn isn’t allowed to mention that he took up painting during quarantine without showing some of them?
“I think a lot of guys had a smile on their face the whole day. … It was great to be out there with the guys again.” — @jamiebenn14#GoStars pic.twitter.com/b75FBVhZfA
— x-Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 13, 2020
Around The League(s)
How did the new Collective Bargaining Agreement come to be? Turns out COVID quarantine can bring even the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association together.
On the eve of Stage III, how we got here and where we’re going: https://t.co/Trecm5cxgw
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 12, 2020
To be honest, I’m surprised the Pittsburgh Penguins revealed anything at all, because I’m pretty sure this is against the law or something.
The Penguins did not reveal which players were held out as a precautionary measure https://t.co/eVsbDzd3wo
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) July 14, 2020
Remember free agency? Matt Larkin teases out some interesting details in the new CBA.
Per the freshly ratified CBA, the early free-agent negotiation window is no more.
That’s a win for the players. Why?
Story, with thoughts from some NHL GMs and agents:https://t.co/jwSfepc4Oe pic.twitter.com/BAXq8EJkuq
— Matt Larkin (@THNMattLarkin) July 13, 2020
Also at THN, maybe we ask Ryan Kennedy why Nick and not Jason Robertson made his list.
A slew of top prospects have been invited to NHL playoff training camps. @THNRyanKennedy takes a look at 10 that caught his eye https://t.co/QRRtTgSaV7
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 13, 2020
Greetings From Beautiful Boise
Good news for the Idaho Steelheads: Captain A.J. White will return for the 2020-21 season.
🚨PLAYER NEWS🚨
The Captain is back!
🔗https://t.co/pys6FGHmup pic.twitter.com/91sHC2S5mq
— Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads) July 9, 2020
Finally
Yeah, it’s like that. Enjoy.
Today was a g̶o̶o̶d̶ great day 😄#GoStars pic.twitter.com/p7S0rr4EXP
— x-Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 14, 2020