FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There was a time not long ago when the Dallas Stars were far too dependent on their top line.
With a trio of 70-point scorers skating together two seasons ago, the Stars didn’t even get out of the first round of the playoffs. That came after being the only one of 16 playoff teams to allow more goals than they scored during the regular season.
Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz remained top scorers last year but got more help as Dallas made it to the Western Conference Final, and the scoring is now even deeper and more balanced. The Central Division champion Stars have a franchise-record and NHL-high eight 20-goal scorers, and a ninth player with more than 50 points.
“Depth is one of the keys,” the 39-year-old Pavelski said.
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“You look at all of our numbers and we’re all almost identical, which is pretty cool,” said Matt Duchene, a veteran newcomer to the group this season. “It’s kind of the next-man-up mentality where you just kind of roll the lines over and one night, one line’s going to have a big night, and the next night someone else … and when we get two going, it’s really scary.”
The increase in balanced scoring coincides with Pete DeBoer’s two seasons as coach of the Stars since the departure of Rick Bowness, who took them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. After scoring 285 goals last season, the Stars now have 296 through Tuesday —the most since the franchise moved to Dallas before the 1993-94 season.
“The two times I’ve been to the finals and lost, it was because the depth of the other team was better than ours,” said DeBoer, who coached in the final with New Jersey in 2012 and San Jose in 2016. “There’s not many teams you can put our lineup up against up front where that’s going to be the case. So that’s a great option to have, and that’s really the strength of this team. We’ve got to make sure we utilize that.”
Robertson is the leading scorer with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) and still on the top line with Pavelski (67 points, 27 goals) and Hintz (65 points, 30 goals). Wyatt Johnston, the 20-year-old already finishing his second full season, has a team-best 32 goals to go with his 33 assists.
With every line contributing, the Stars have been able to manage ice time while prepping for what they hope is an even longer postseason run than last year, when they lost at home to eventual Cup champion Las Vegas in Game 6 of the West final. They finish this regular season at home Wednesday night.
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“The nice thing is you’re not physically exhausted at all at this time of year because our minutes are lower than a lot of other teams,” said Duchene, who has 64 points (25 goals) while playing under 17 minutes a game, well below his career average. “If you’re able to still produce and contribute offensively as a forward group, that doesn’t really matter how much you’re playing. We’re fresh and ready to go.”
The 24-year-old Robertson at almost 18 1/2 minutes a game is getting the most ice time among Dallas forwards. Jamie Benn, the 34-year-old captain, still has 60 points (21 goals) in just over 15 minutes a game, his lowest average ice time since his rookie season 14 years ago and coming primarily on a third line with Johnston and 21-year-old Logan Stankoven.
Six-time All-Star Tyler Seguin (25 goals) and Mason Marchment (21 goals), usually with Duchene on the second line, are the other 20-goal scorers. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has nine goals and 45 assists. Seguin is the only player on the roster with a Stanley Cup title, though that came during his rookie season with Boston in 2010-11.
“Everyone here has sacrificed. We talked about that sacrifice from day one at camp. To play on a contender, you’re going to have to check your ego at the door and and make some sacrifices personally,” DeBoer said. “We’ve had zero issue with that. Every guy’s lined up to take their turn to sacrifice for the greater good. And that’s why we’ve got the record we’ve got.”
Every other year, the Aurora Biennial transforms Dallas into a dazzling display of lights, video and music. This year was special because it was the first time the event took play in-person since 2018. The free public event turned the Dallas Public Library, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas City Hall and other buildings into art installations with the theme “FuturePresentPast.”
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Joe Mixon ran for three touchdowns to extend his TD streak to six games since coming back from injury, Derek Barnett returned a fumble 28 yards for a score, and the Texans beat the Cowboys 34-10 on Monday night.
The Texans (7-4) stopped just the second two-game losing streak of CJ Stroud’s young career while maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC South.
Houston pulled away in the second-half a week after a 26-23 last-play loss to Detroit at home, when the Texans let a 23-7 half-time lead get away from them.
“It’s not as bad as it ever seems, and it’s never as good as it ever seems,” Stroud said. “Those type of games, you have to come out with a win, especially going up like that at the half [against the Lions]. But what are we going to do about it?”
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Amid a woeful season for the Cowboys (3-7) on the field, debris fell from their stadium’s retractable roof as it was opening a few hours before the game. There was no delay and no injuries were reported, just another mishap to foreshadow a fifth consecutive defeat for a team that lost five games total in each of the past three seasons.
Cooper Rush threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin but lost his second start since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury.
The Dallas losing streak is their longest since a seven-game skid in 2015, and the Cowboys dropped to 0-5 at home. Dallas are the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 20 points in six consecutive home games, including last season’s wildcard playoff loss to Green Bay, according to Sportradar. The Cowboys had reached the playoffs in each of their previous three seasons, but that run is all but over.
“Well, they better be frustrated,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I mean, we’re all frustrated. I think there’d be something wrong if they weren’t frustrated. So just very honest with everything and stay in tune with what’s right in front of us. And that’s the only way I’ve ever done it.”
The Cowboys were down 20-10 early in the fourth quarter when Barnett knocked the ball out of Rush’s hand. Dallas rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton caught it and was trying to run when Jalen Pitre knocked the ball loose again. Barnett scooped up the ball and scored, although he almost stepped out of bounds.
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“The play he made really changed for game for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It flipped the momentum. It got everybody juiced up on the sideline. It was just a huge play.”
Earlier, the Cowboys appeared to have pulled within a touchdown on a 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey, but Barnett was penalized for slapping Terence Steele on the rush. Dallas erased the points by taking the penalty, but Rush’s fourth-down pass from the Houston eight-yard line was incomplete on the only good scoring chance of the second half for the the Cowboys.
“The defense played with elite energy,” Ryans said. “One big play that we gave up. Like to have that one back, but overall I think our guys played really well.”
Texans receiver Nico Collins returned after missing five games with a hamstring injury and took a screen pass 77 yards to the end zone on the first play of the game, only to have it called back because of an ineligible receiver downfield.
That possession ended with a touchdown anyway on Mixon’s 45-yard sprint up the middle, and he ran wide for a one-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Mixon had 109 yards rushing on the day and set up a field goal with a 37-yard catch-and-run on a screen.
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“I really love that first play because it showed what we could do in this game,” Ryans said. “Even though it got called back, I just told all our guys, ‘We can go score on these guys again. Just get it in your mind we’re going to score again.’”
Already without Prescott, the Cowboys lost tight end Jake Ferguson to a concussion and perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith to ankle injuries. Rush was sacked five times, three on the same possession when Martin and Smith were injured.
Stroud, who has been in a mini-slump, threw for 257 yards while avoiding any mistakes after an early interception on fourth down. It was the third time in five games he has gone without a touchdown pass, and he has two TDs and three picks in that stretch.
Rush was 32 of 55 for 354 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Turpin had three catches for 86 yards.
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