Burnside: Five takeaways from Stars' blowout win over Colorado

DENVER --The Dallas Stars came up with a season-high fifth straight win in Denver on Sunday, crushing the Avalanche 7-2 to even the season series with Colorado at 2-2.
Here are some mutterings and meanderings about a game that had all the makings of an excuse-fest, but instead turned into one of the most lopsided victories of the season for the Stars.

1. Excuses? We don't need no stinking excuses

Let's just say, had the Stars lost their third straight game at the Pepsi Center this season, would anyone have blamed them?
They were coming off four straight wins, including a sweep of Chicago in an emotional home-and-home set, with the second game played in Dallas less than 24 hours earlier. Kari Lehtonen was getting his first start since Nov. 18, and on that night, had played a little more than a period. And the Avs had owned the Stars at home and had played exceptionally well at the Pepsi Center overall, going 8-3-1 prior to Sunday's game.
Throw in the absence of regulars Antoine Roussel (flu), Martin Hanzal (hamstring) and Marc Methot (knee) and, well, you'd have given the Stars a pass if they'd have somehow ended up on the losing end.
But they didn't. And the fact they didn't is, in some ways, even more impressive (okay, maybe as impressive) as the wins over Chicago and, before that, Las Vegas.
"We're playing the right way," head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "There's no other way to describe it. We're playing the right way. We're not chasing the game up and down the ice. We're not gambling on 50-50 situations. We're playing smart.
"You play the game the right way, you have enough skill, you give yourself a chance to win games and that's what we're doing."
It's not that the Stars blew the doors off the Avs, in spite of what the score might suggest. There were moments of grinding and a couple of tense times, including an Avalanche goal 39 seconds into the second that made it 2-1, Dallas.
But in the end, there was a patient confidence that allowed the Stars to reduce the Avs to a non-factor.
"I think the energy was lacking tonight," said Tyler Seguin, who scored twice in the first period. "But it was how we controlled our energy. It was with great purpose tonight. Great poise with the puck and the plays."

2. Oh, there you are

Much of the heavy lifting during the four-game win streak, and the stretch that had seen the Stars win six of seven heading into Sunday's visit to Denver, was done by the rank and file.
Radek Faksa had five goals in three games heading into Sunday. Mattias Janmark had two, including the overtime winner in the first game in Chicago on Thursday.
What had been noticeable was a lack of production, at least 5-on-5, from the big guns Jamie Benn, Seguin and Alexander Radulov, who had been separated and then reunited several games ago.
Asked and answered.
Credit Seguin for having gas in the tank to pull away and score on a breakaway in the latter stages of the first period a night after he logged an incredible 28:50 in ice time (and scored in the shootout). And double kudos for withstanding being slammed into the boards by an exuberant Radulov after he scored.
"After the first, I came in and told Doc, 'I think I popped a rib out there,' " Seguin joked. "I saw him coming in hot and kind of went to brace myself and then, oh, see you later."
As for Benn, who has now gone seven straight games without a goal, his play in controlling the puck in the offensive zone was a catalyst to Seguin's second goal, a double-deflection of a John Klingberg point-shot in the final minute of the first period.
The Stars captain also added an assist on Greg Pateryn's bomb in the second period.
Seguin admitted there's been some mental challenges to first being separated from Benn and Radulov, and then returning to that trio.
"Mentally, it's kind of been back and forth in my head, at least," he said. "Tonight, I thought ... it wasn't our line, it was the whole team."

3. And now some Kari Lehtonen perspective

As we noted, Sunday's start was the first since Nov. 18 for Lehtonen. In between, he missed a couple of games with the birth of his son and watched as Ben Bishop won five of seven.
"Well, there were a lot of different things were in my mind," Lehtonen said about coming in after a long layoff.
"It was nice to play again after a couple of weeks off, and all the things with having a baby and stuff like that in the middle there, it was nice that hockey was No. 1 again and I got to play."
Let's be honest: there's no tougher situation than the one into which the veteran netminder stepped, given all of the aforementioned dynamics. And while Lehtonen didn't have to save this game, he did his part, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the first period as the Stars built an important 2-0 lead.
Overall, he stopped 25 of 27, including a splendid pad save on a Mikko Rantanen blast on a Colorado power play in the third. But it's Lehtonen's perspective on this team that was of most interest to us tonight.
"What I noticed from last time I played, I think this group has come together a lot more and we have simplified the game in our own end and make smarter plays. That, I felt like, helped me out a lot there today," Lehtonen said.
He noted the goal early in the second, when Rantanen scored on a delayed penalty in the first minute to make it 2-1.
"They get a quick goal in the second there to make it a tighter game, (and) we just kept going," he said. "We end up scoring a couple in their end. That's something that I've seen really big growth in this team. Just to keep level-headed and trust what you're doing out there."

4. Looking ahead

Yes, it's not wise to look too far ahead. The players don't like to and neither do the coaches. But that won't stop us.
Sunday's win moves the Stars to within two points of third-place Nashville, with the Predators coming to Dallas on Tuesday. Two days later, the Stars make their first trip to St. Louis since the second night of the regular season.
The Stars dropped both earlier games against these Central Division foes, part of their first-quarter history that had the Stars staring down a 1-6 divisional record just a week ago. Now, they're 4-6 against the Central with an opportunity to almost completely reverse that trend over the next week.
"Great week for us," Seguin said. "Kind of closed the chapter on the week and get ready for some more tough hockey coming up."
Hitchcock was likewise eager to focus on the challenge that the Western Conference champion Predators represent.
"All this is is a relief league. You win, it's relief. So, you get to fight another day, so we're relieved that we won both on the weekend, and we're really looking forward to Nashville," he said.
"We thought we played a great game in Nashville. They were ahead of us a little bit in some areas, and they've got a great team. So, we're looking forward to that challenge, and then, we'll just measure it up from there. If we continue to play this well, we give ourselves a fighting chance every night."

5. Odds and ends

It looked like Faksa might score yet again in the second period, but what was originally ruled a fifth goal for Dallas was reversed on a challenge by the Avalanche. Officials ruled that Tyler Pitlick had interfered with Semyon Varlamov, who'd come on in relief of starter Jonathan Bernier, who was yanked after giving up four goals on nine shots.
Faksa did end up setting up Brett Ritchie for Ritchie's second of the night, and maybe more importantly, did a great job clearing a puck away from an open Dallas goal during a Colorado power play in the second period with the game still within reach for the hometown Avs.
Speaking of Ritchie, his first goal of the night was the direct result of hard work by Curtis McKenzie, who was called up from the Stars' American Hockey League affiliate with Martin Hanzal out with a hamstring injury.
McKenzie's primary assist helped support Hitchcock's claim earlier in the day that McKenzie's got the tools to be a regular offensive contributor. He still played fewer than seven minutes, as he did Saturday, so we'll see if he stays in the lineup and gets a little more ice time.
And Greg Pateryn scored his first of the year, which was nice for him -- it's always nice to score, he said afterward, naturally. But his continued defensive play is another part of the Stars puzzle during this stretch of successful hockey. He led all Stars with 22:23 in ice time, was plus-two, scored and blocked four shots.
If there was an unsung hero award during this streak, Pateryn might be your guy.
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.