First Shift 🏒

The Christmas Break came at the right time for the Stars.

Dallas just completed a stretch in which it played 16 games in 29 days in 10 different cities. It was an incredible challenge, and yet the Lads in Victory Green went 12-2-2 and made a statement to the league and to themselves.

Sure, Colorado is having a historic season and leads the NHL in pretty much every category, but Dallas is second in record at 25-7-6 and also is among the leaders in a ton of team statistics. The Stars rank second in scoring at 3.50 goals per game, fourth in goals against at 2.61, second in power play success at 31.8 percent, and seventh in the penalty kill at 82.6 percent.

“Our record is where it is,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Going into Christmas Break, I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

Gulutzan is in his first season as the Stars’ new head coach. He returns to the team he coached more than a decade ago, but does so with years of experience following stops in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton over the last 12 years. The 54-year-old said he is a different coach.

“Scar tissue,” he said. “You build up a thicker skin and you learn from your experience, and I really do believe that helps.”

Intertwined in all of the stats are little stories that reveal some pretty cool truths about this group. Dallas has missed some key players for significant stretches, including Benn, Duchene, Seguin, Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist. Seguin is out for the regular season following knee surgery and might not be able to return for the playoffs. That’s one of the hard truths. But what’s interesting is the group has been able to navigate the injuries and still post an impressive record.

Sam Steel and Johnston have stepped up in the absence of Duchene and Seguin. Steel and Mavrik Bourque also helped replace Benn when he was out. On defense, Alexander Petrovic and Kyle Capobianco have logged bigger minutes in the absence of Harley, Lundkvist and Lian Bichsel.

Fact is, the best part of the team is the fact that it has been a really good team despite a number of challenges.

“We have a lot of good players and everybody finds a way to contribute,” said Benn. “It’s a great effort from everyone.”

One of the keys has been the goaltending duo of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith. Oettinger is tied for the NHL lead in wins at 16-6-2, while DeSmith is 9-1-4, with his lone regulation loss coming in his first start of the season back on Oct. 16. The Stars as a team rank third in save percentage at .907.

“Our goaltenders give us a chance every game,” said forward Rantanen. “They’ve been our MVPs.”

Rantanen and the scorers also have played a big role. Acquired in trade last season and signed to an eight-year contract that averages $12 million per season, Rantanen has lived up to his billing. He ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists) and also is second in both assists and power play assists. Johnston leads the NHL in power play goals at 14 and ranks 16th overall in scoring with 42 points. Robertson is fifth in scoring at 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) and also is a key reason why the Stars lead the NHL in power play goals at 37.

Can the team keep up that pace after the break? The Stars might actually get better. Heiskanen is averaging almost 26 minutes of ice time per game and is coming off a game in which he played 27:44, so he could use the rest. There are also some adjustments the team can make to spread the minutes more evenly.

Harley and Lundkvist are both still getting up and running, and that will be key in a month of January where the team plays 15 games, including 11 on the road.

Mix in the fact that anywhere from three to nine players will probably go to Italy for the Olympics in February, and this is going to be one of the toughest seasons ever. But when you consider that the first “half” of the season has been good, well that creates a lot of positive momentum for the team.

Gulutzan has a saying that each victory brings “24 hours of peace.” Twenty five of them just so happened to give the team three days of peace during the Christmas Break, and that was very hard-earned.