It was only a week ago that the Dallas Stars were sitting at 1-7-1, and the season seemed to be all but over by late October. Now, the Stars are riding a three-game winning streak, with things finally looking up for once:
“We are finding ways to win,” [Corey] Perry said. “It’s not pretty, but it’s been effective and it’s getting the job done. Like I said, we’re one step at a time, one day at a time, and take it day by day.”
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses — the Stars still have a long climb up before they’re back in a playoff spot, and each of their past three wins were against teams who are also sitting on the outside looking in currently. But as head coach Jim Montgomery says, it’s easier to make progress when you start seeing results:
“We’ve got to keep building,” Montgomery said. “It’s easier to teach and build on positives, and to teach on areas where you need to get better, when you’re winning. The players are more receptive, and I think the coaches do it in a better fashion.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
It’s gameday! The Stars look to keep their winning streak going tonight with a rematch against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who might have some reinforcements incoming:
The cavalry has arrived… Maybe.
The Penguins had not one, not two, but three injured players return to full team practice this afternoon in Dallas.
More: https://t.co/kvzQC61qQY pic.twitter.com/wjIxv8rzar
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 25, 2019
Montgomery is shuffling the forward lineup some more, such as potentially swapping Joe Pavelski and Denis Gurianov:
In search of chemistry, scoring, Stars won’t break from ‘identity’ https://t.co/XnO5nnL0u8 via @NHLdotcom
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) October 26, 2019
I think the posts have finally forgiven Tyler Seguin — the problem is now they’ve turned on Jamie Benn:
Jamie Benn is paid to score goals. The underlying signs to get him there are encouraging. https://t.co/db0zTHsqPd
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) October 26, 2019
Around the League
There were several games last night, but only one involving #MDK — the Colorado Avalanche were hot, while the Vegas Golden Knights were not:
Matt Calvert and Nazem Kadri each score two in Avs 6-1 win over Golden Knights https://t.co/AYCB1Bj22X
— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) October 26, 2019
The Nashville Predators’ blueline took a hit with the P.K. Subban trade, but Ryan Ellis is stepping up big time:
Ryan Ellis is finally the undisputed top right-shot defenseman on his own team. Does that mean a career year in the cards? Yes…sort of.@THNMattLarkin explains:https://t.co/lI2FjJhDHS
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 25, 2019
Down Goes Brown talks outdoor games and more in his latest Grab Bag:
Friday Grab Bag: Which team should be the next to get its second outdoor game? Plus Allan Bester, the Chris Durno story and lots more. https://t.co/yf01jyJ4j3 pic.twitter.com/f96cQXCGR5
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) October 25, 2019
After getting swept in the first round, perhaps the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying to do things a little too differently this year?
Why the Lightning aren’t looking like the Lightning, winners/losers of the week and John Tortorella vs. the shootout in this week’s Wysh List! (ICYMI) #NHL https://t.co/0G8hDJLwG9
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 25, 2019
The Philadelphia Flyers have started a bit slow, but they could be a sneakily good team this year:
The Flyers may be off to a mediocre start, but there’s reason to believe Philadelphia could be a real threat once their big guns start to click, writes @THNJaredClintonhttps://t.co/0VvYQLSRRt
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 25, 2019
Finally, it’s never too early to start looking at the next crop of UFAs:
To rank the the upcoming UFA class, @CraigCustance used colleague @domluszczyszyn‘s model to generate the 20 potential UFAs it finds most valuable. Check out the results: https://t.co/H77nKGD7bn
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 25, 2019