© Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
WHAT A ROAD TRIP! Stars win their first and second game of the season against the reigning Directors Cup champions, and their arch rivals. The buildup to these matches were intense. Dallas faced two elite teams, on the road, that are Western Conference contenders and beat both. What could be better? In this article we will provide a summary of Dallas’ road trip, and cover what we have learned from the Stars road wins in Winnipeg and Colorado.
Glen Gulutzan isn’t afraid to make changes:
At the beginning of the season it would have been heresy to see Sam Steel on the Dallas Stars 1st line. Now, after two games and practice in between, it seems like the Steel-Hintz-Rantanen top line is here to stay. Despite that top line being set in stone I would not be surprised to see Robertson skate with Hintz and Rantanen more often. Robertson joined the top line during game one in Winnipeg and blew the game open. Gulutzan isn’t done making changes either. Before the season started Stars writer Robert Tiffin reported that Justin Hryckowian, Matt Duchene, and Tyler Seguin were skating together. After two games we’ve already seen a shift to those lines. Today, before the Stars season opener, we now see Colin Blackwell skating with Duchene and Seguin, and Hryckowian skating with Radek Faksa, and Nathan Bastian. Once captain Jamie Benn is back there will be another shift in the lines, but for now they should stay the same.
Heavy Hitting: Stars on the boards
Before the season started Glen Gulutzan made it obvious that he wanted to increase the level of physicality that Dallas played with. Safe to say, he has stayed true to his word. Over the past two games there has been a clear increase in hits, fights, and hostile physicality. While an increase was expected with the additions of Lian Bischel and Ilya Lyubushkin, there has been more physicality from previously passive individuals. Firstly, Mikko “Moose” Rantanen has begun throwing his massive 6’4, 220 lb frame around (see below). Secondly, Roope Hintz is more chippy. Against Winnipeg he picked up a roughing penalty while defending teammate Jason Robertson. There was four fights in the game against Colorado, showing that Dallas is no longer a team that gets pushed around without Jamie Benn. If this level of physicality continues, Dallas will have everything they need to make another Stanley Cup run.
Penalty kills and Power plays:
Through two games it is already evident that Dallas has a penalty problem. Through two games Dallas has conceded 27 total minutes of penalties. Despite the Star elite penalty kill, this is simply not ok. Dallas let up two goals on their road trip. One to Colorado, and one to Winnipeg. It will be imperative for the Stars to stay out of the penalty box next game against the Minnesota Wild.
Overall Dallas’ penalty kills and power plays look solid, especially against two elite Western Conference team. Overall, they just need to focus on staying out of the penalty box.
Leave a Reply