Searching for offense, Stars look to break out of slump in Game 3

Game 3: Stars vs. Golden Knights (series tied 1-1)

It's a familiar refrain -- just one we haven't heard for a while.
The Stars can't score right now. They have one goal in two games against the Vegas Golden Knights, and several key players are currently in slumps. Still, interim coach Rick Bowness said he believes they have the ability to break out if they focus on details and play the attacking style that got them past Calgary and Colorado.
Bowness changed a lot of the team's philosophy heading into the second training camp and has been rewarded with a team that scored 42 goals over a span of 10 games in beating the Flames and Avalanche. So while the Stars have hit a wall offensively, Bowness said it's not so much style as it is attention to detail.
"I saw some things creep in offensively that I didn't like. We haven't practiced much, and all of the things that we worked on in July when we could practice, we thought we had broken some of those habits, but we saw them creep in some last game and I didn't like that," Bowness said of the Stars getting shut out by goalie Robin Lehner in Game 2.
"That being said, we had some good opportunities. I think if we would have scored one, we would have been fine and we would have gotten our game rolling again, but we didn't do that. Lehner made some good saves, but we didn't put enough quality chances on him."
The Stars clearly are facing a different challenge in the Knights. One, they have two great goalies. Two, they make it hard for the Stars to create the kind of chances that came a little more easily against Colorado. Because of that, Dallas can't get frustrated and take too many chances. The Stars' attention to detail is what has carried them this season.

"I think it just goes to show how well structured and how good of a team Vegas is," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "They don't give you much, and you've got to take advantage of your opportunities. Probably for us, we need to take advantage of our power-play time. That's got to be a difference in this series."
The Stars have scored 15 power play goals, tied for most in the playoffs. That's been a key to their success. However, several key players are in slumps. Tyler Seguin and Corey Perry have each not scored a point in the past six games. Roope Hintz has gone dry in the goal scoring department, same with Joe Pavelski.
Seguin said he believes if he keeps working hard, he will break through. He leads the Stars in shots on goal in the playoffs at 47, but his shooting percentage is at 4.2 percent.
"Every day is a new day, focus on that day, that moment," Seguin said when asked about the slump. "With playoffs and with where we are with these playoff games, you can't look in the past and you can't look ahead. You focus on that day and that's been my mindset. Now that we're here, you've got to take advantage of this, give it your all, not worry about statistics or this and that, worry about winning games and enjoying every moment."
The Stars need an answer in Game 3, and getting a few goals could definitely take the pressure off of some key players. But, they also have to be prepared to win a 1-0 game, GM Jim Nill said.
"The one thing I've noticed in this bubble is the ebbs and flows of the game, the momentum changes, and so far we haven't seen that in our series," Nill said. "I think that's because both teams have great structure and are very consistent that way, but also I've seen in these games there's always games within the games.
"Will we see things open up? We may. But once again, I think we've got two well-coached teams, two very disciplined teams, and they're going to be tight games the rest of the way."

Nill: Bowness doing great job, two sides will meet once season is over

As the Stars get deeper in the playoffs, more questions arise about Bowness' interim tag. Bowness has said on several occasions that he will talk with Nill when the season is over, and Nill on Wednesday said that is the plan.
"We have an agreement," Nill said. "We're going to sit down at the end of the year. I want to talk to Rick. Does he want to be a head coach?"
That has been one of the interesting issues for Bowness, 65. He took the job because it was the best solution when the Stars had to fire Jim Montgomery in December. However, he has been an assistant coach for much of his life, and the challenges of being a head coach can be daunting. Bowness said he's not thinking or talking about anything beyond his next game.

"Jim Nill and I have an agreement. We'll talk about it at the end of the year, and that's all that matters," Bowness said. "I haven't even given that any thought. There's no time for that. I tell our players that we stay in the moment. I want our coaches to stay in the moment, as well."
Nill said that Bowness has done a great job this season, and deserves plenty of credit for helping the Stars to the third round of the playoffs.
"We're reaping the rewards right now of him having a chance to put his stamp on this team. I've been very impressed. We're down to the final four," Nill said of the fact Bowness used the NHL's "Pause" to restructure the style of play.
"The most important thing is watching how the players react. When you see how players react to a coach and the decisions he has to make. I know that Rick's got the full support of the players, and that's important."

Both coaches mum on lineups for Game 3

Both Bowness and Pete DeBoer were quiet when asked about lineup decisions for Game 3. DeBoer inserted Ryan Reaves and Lehner for Game 2, and saw good results, so he might leave everything the same.
Bowness made the tough decision to scratch Andrew Cogliano for Games 1 and 2, and that might weigh on his mind. That said, Jamie Benn has played well in Cogliano's place on the checking line with Radek Faksa and Blake Comeau, and Joel Kiviranta has played well on a line with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov since jumping into the lineup.

Inserting Cogliano could disrupt both of those lines.
Bowness said both Ben Bishop and Taylor Fedun still are "unfit to play," meaning Jake Oettinger will likely be the backup goalie and Joel Hanley will likely stay in on defense. Both played well in Game 2, as Oettinger made his NHL debut and stopped all five shots he faced in 20 minutes, while Hanley logged 11:38.
Both Bishop and Fedun have been practicing, and Bishop started Game 5 against Calgary after being listed as "unfit to play," so we'll have to wait for warm-up to get final confirmation on the lineup.

By the numbers

0.49

Seguin has scored 635 points in 741 career regular season games for a points per game average of 0.86. He has 39 points in 79 playoff games for an average of 0.49 points per game. Seguin has seven points (two goals, five assists) in 17 playoff games this season.

9

That's the number of hits that Gurianov was credited with in Game 2 of the Stars' best-of-seven series with Vegas. Gurianov has 59 hits, fourth most on the team in the postseason.

39

That's the faceoff winning percentage for Dallas in Game 2, who won 19 of 49 draws). The Stars won 27 of 45 faceoffs in Game 1 for a 60 percent winning percentage.

He said it

"I don't think there was anybody on that bench that didn't have a thought that we might come back. We know what this team can do in these situations."
-- Pavelski on how the Stars felt being down 3-0 against the Golden Knights in Game 2

Stars projected lineup

Joel Kiviranta - Roope Hintz - Denis Gurianov
Mattias Janmark - Joe Pavelski - Alexander Radulov
Jamie Benn - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau
Jason Dickinson - Tyler Seguin - Corey Perry
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak - Miro Heiskanen
Joel Hanley - Andrej Sekera
Anton Khudobin
Jake Oettinger
Unfit to Play: Stephen Johns, Ben Bishop, Taylor Fedun
Scratched:Andrew Cogliano, Justin Dowling, Jason Robertson, Ty Dellandrea, Thomas Harley, Joel Kiviranta, Nick Caamano, Gavin Bayreuther, Landon Bow
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.