The Dallas Stars seem comfortable with slow starts. After giving up two goals against the New York Rangers, the team responded with six straight to put the game away. This was in sharp contrast to the fast start Dallas had against the Colorado Avalanche in the previous game.
Pete DeBoer finally broke apart the top line, moving Jason Robertson into Jamie Benn’s slot with Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov. If you follow goals, the move was genius – Benn opened the scoring, with Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz picking up goals later in the game.
If you follow expected goals, both lines played just about even against the Rangers – which is a slight improvement over the past few games. Dallas continues to lean heavily on the Matt Duchene line, with an honorable mention to Radek Faksa’s fourth line. The fourth line, in fact, has been obscurely good – especially in putting together monster possession shifts that seem to ignite the other lines.
One complaint. If you just follow the numbers, Sam Steel’s stats just don’t measure up to Ty Dellandrea’s, whether its shot share, expected goals or any number of other fancy stats. Of course, Steel found an open net (ok – the inside of the post, with a bounce in), and his empty netter got him onto the score sheet against the Rangers.
We’ll see how long the latest line blinder holds. Watching the Texas Stars (and if you listen to the Stargazing podcast at all, you know that I’m in the minority of Stars fans who is in favor of AHL “seasoning”), you have to wonder how a sniper like Logan Stankoven would look next to Hintz and Pavelski. Someone would need to go the other way and clear waivers, but adding a legitimate top six offensive spark plug to the lineup right now makes a let of sense.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jamie Benn (14) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Jason Robertson (21) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Craig Smith (15) – Radek Faksa (12) – Sam Steel (18)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Joel Hanley (44) – Nils Lundkvist (5)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
I worked against the Rangers, so why change things after just one game. Right?
Oettinger appears to have called his own number.
Perhaps more realistically – note the upgrade on Thomas Harley’s status.
Vegas Golden Knights Lineup
Ivan Barbashev (49) – Jack Eichel (9) – Jonathan Marchessault (81)
Brett Howden (21) – Chandler Stephenson (20) – Mark Stone (61)
Paul Cotter (43) – William Karlsson (71) – Michael Amadio (22)
William Carrier (28) – Nicolas Roy (10) – Keegan Kolesar (55)
Brayden McNabb (3) – Shea Theodore (27)
Alec Martinez (23) – Alex Pietrangelo (7)
Nicolas Hague (14) – Zach Whitecloud (2)
Adin Hill (33)
Logan Thompson (36)
The Golden Knights are healthy and deep. Up front, each line creates its own challenges. If any is underperforming, it would be the second line – but that’s nitpicking. Goals can come from anywhere, and the Stars four lines will all need to play a 200 foot game.
Defensively, three solid pairs. Shea Theodore is having a sneaky good Norris Trophy quality season. He won’t win, but he should get some votes.
Hill and Thompson are 1A and 1B, with save percentages well above 90 and goals against averages under 2.5. The defending champions have the lineup to back that up and should present a challenge at least as daunting as the Stars face against the Avalanche or the Rangers.
Keys to the Game
60 Minute Game. Vegas is a team that doesn’t have any obvious weakness. A slow start – or worse, the turtle at the end – means a long night for the Stars.
Goaltending. Sure, a hot netminder can always flip a game. Here, its more likely given the quality in net. Oettinger in particular is due for a “stolen” game.
Breaking the Cycle. This is the type of game where Thomas Harley and his zone exits would be useful. If the Stars get trapped in a Golden Knights cycle, they may need to revert to hard clears up the boards. Faceoffs could be the Stars friend.
Remember the late start – and coverage on TNT.