This season, the Dallas Stars have frequently relied on their defense for their offense—in fact, Dallas’ d-core leads all other teams in defenseman scoring with 80 points. John Klingberg is (obviously) responsible for a big chunk of that, but Alex Goligoski, Jordie Benn, and the rest of the team are pitching in, too. Mike Heika explores the benefits and drawbacks to having such an active blue line.
It’s a bit of a risky strategy, because the defenseman is trusting that a forward has coverage back in case there is a counterattack against. And when the Stars have yielded odd-man rushes, you can often find a defenseman up in the offensive zone and seemingly out of position.
“The right word is trust,” Ruff said when asked about the balance of activating well and activating poorly. “We had the reads in St. Louis (Saturday), and we gave up a 3-on-1. When you miss an assignment, it looks pretty bad. But we’re not going to change the system, we’re going to harp on everybody to do their job.”
Alex Goligoski also chimed in with his thoughts on how getting in on the attack affects the game.
“I think it’s definitely working, but we can still get better at it,” said Goligoski. “We’re trying to be more consistent as a team in a lot of areas. We’re working together and there’s definitely trust, and that makes it a lot easier if you have played together. But it’s everything _ how you read, time of game, it’s a whole heap of things.”
For more on the Stars’ high-scoring defensemen, click the link. [SportsDayDFW]
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Stars. Flames. Tonight. AAC. 7:30 p.m. Be there. [Stars Inside Edge]
Antoine Roussel took over @DallasStars on Twitter yesterday, and Erin has the highlights ready and waiting for you.
If you didn’t have a chance to tune in to Tyler Seguin’s regular radio segment yesterday, now seems like it would be the perfect time to catch up. [BaD Radio]
Considering the start to the season that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has had, it’s tough to justify calling him the best player in the game (at least for right now). So who takes over the top spot? Jamie Benn should certainly be in the conversation, according to Neil Greenberg at The Washington Post. [WaPo]
As Jason Spezza continues to settle into his role and life in Dallas, he’s becoming more and more involved in the community.
Sportsnet ranked the top 10 centers in the game right now, and you’ll be happy to know that No. 91 claimed the No. 1 spot. [Sportsnet]
You know what else Tyler Seguin has going for him? He’s DFW’s version of Han Solo. Feel free to guess the other Dallas sports stars who’ve been dubbed Chewbacca and Jar Jar Binks. [SportsDayDFW]
The San Jose Sharks have continued their run of creating absurd holiday videos. (There’s also a Part II, if you’re so inclined.)
Until now, it’s only been the story you thought you knew. #SharksHolidayVideo https://t.co/rMc9RodVTB
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 14, 2015
Puck Daddy counted down the 10 best moments in hockey social media this year, and the Stars are involved the best moment. Obviously. [Puck Daddy]
If you feel like watching the world’s tiniest line brawl, head over to the link for some angry Mites on Ice. [USA Today]
Once upon a time, a loophole in UFA compensation rules led to some really weird trades. In fact, it led to Ed Belfour briefly being a member of the Predators. [ESPN]
The times for the World Cup of Hockey training camps have been announced. [NHL]
Don’t worry, y’all. They’re still gonna #doitforthegram.
Team Canada players met amongst themselves to talk about social media; decided to delete Twitter & Facebook off phones during #WorldJuniors
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 16, 2015
The first part of Road to the Winter Classic premiered last night, and you can see what the Canadiens and Bruins got up to at the link (if you have a log-in/sign up for a free EPIX trial). [EPIX]
A new look can go a long way. From the Senators to the Ducks, here are the teams that might benefit from an updated logo. [The Hockey News]
Bob McKenzie keeps us up-to-date on the latest college free agent class. [TSN]
Hold onto your hats, everyone. The Steven Stamkos situation is just starting to ramp up. [Sportsnet]
And finally, the Stars are good at hockey. They are not good at singing Christmas carols.