The Dallas Stars are currently riding a four-game winning streak, and have won six of their past seven. Their turnaround is fueled by many different factors, starting with the re-emergence of Roope Hintz and the top line:
[Hintz] has seven goals in the last eight games, and only three players have more goals than Hintz since Nov. 10: Leon Draisaitl, Alex Ovechkin and Matt Duchene. Hintz now leads the Stars in goals despite scoring zero in the first three-plus weeks.
…
According to MoneyPuck’s expected-goals model, Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski ranks seventh in expected-goals share among lines with at least 100 5-on-5 minutes together. Dallas has outscored opponents 7-4 at 5-on-5 with the line on the ice.
Dallas has also gotten improved special teams play, especially from the penalty kill:
The Stars own the league’s second-best power play, scoring 13.81 goals per 60 minutes on the power play, which trails only Edmonton… The penalty kill has recently started a turnaround, having killed 16 of the last 17 power-play chances. Dallas’ penalty kill has actually outscored opponents in the last five games thanks to Hintz’s two shorthanded goals against St. Louis on Nov. 20.
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Stars Stories
Of course, improved play means nothing if they can’t keep it up going forward:
“We had a good week, and now we have to keep winning.”
Read » https://t.co/HhOjNbttqn@PNCBank | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/VVm6rmfkhw
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 28, 2021
Just gonna leave this here…
According to @JeffMarek, the Carolina Hurricanes have reached out to the Stars inquiring about John Klingberg.
Stars next game is hosting the Canes on Tuesday.
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) November 28, 2021
Around the League
The Central giveth, the Central taketh away:
- The Minnesota Wild took down the defending champions, securing a 4-2 over the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Hockey Wilderness]
- Meanwhile the Chicago Blackhawks were blanked by the San Jose Sharks 2-0. [Second City Hockey]/
Long story short: Marc Bergevin out, Jeff Gorton in as the Montreal Canadiens clean house.
With the Marc Bergevin era now over, the Canadiens have tapped Jeff Gorton to oversee a “new vision” for the organization.@EricEngels recaps a seismic day in Montreal.https://t.co/DfmSllf2W0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 29, 2021
It’ll be interesting to see how the Canadiens’ front office eventually shakes out:
As we await answers from Geoff Molson, it seems from outside like #Habs may flip the traditional front office structure on its head.
Which may also be a creative workaround to having an Anglophone at the controls in hockey’s cathedral:https://t.co/m6io0M7vh2
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 29, 2021
The Pittsburgh Penguins sale is now officially on the governors’ “to do list”:
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Fenway Sports Group (FSG), a global sports, marketing, media, entertainment, and real estate company, today announced that FSG has entered into an agreement to acquire controlling interest in the Penguins.
Details: https://t.co/7rdSTv2wzL pic.twitter.com/Rx3YKG5f8A
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 29, 2021
Can’t make this stuff up:
Los Angeles’ Brendan Lemieux has been offered an in-person hearing via Zoom for Biting Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk. Date and time TBD.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 28, 2021
Brady Tkachuk didn’t mince words when speaking with reporters:
Brady Tkachuk here #Sens pic.twitter.com/6c2bYKB0Ma
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) November 28, 2021
Jonathan Quick later fired back:
Quick defends Lemieux, while giving Tkachuk a shot. @TSN1200 @TSNJR @TSNHammer pic.twitter.com/oGYeaaXMrq
— Shawn Simpson (@TSNSimmer) November 29, 2021
Finally, here are some NHL milestones to keep an eye on this season:
Which NHL milestones should you be watching this year?
A few big-name players are close to hitting the history book, and @Avry has you up to date on which ones you need to know:https://t.co/FHBfl60qe9 pic.twitter.com/daQ5v6RWdQ
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) November 29, 2021