Man advantage: Radulov, Seguin give Stars weapons on power play

The Stars last season finished fifth in power-play success at 23.6 percent.
They did a lot of that succeeding in the first 11 games when Alexander Radulov was healthy.
Now, with Radulov back from a core injury and Tyler Seguin healthy after hip surgery, there's the belief that the power play might be one of the most dangerous in the NHL.

"The potential is two really good units," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "We expect to have one of the top-ranked power plays in the league."
That's a realistic possibility, and there was just a glimpse of that on the ice at practice Tuesday. The Stars ran two balanced units that included a ton of talent, and those players moved the puck quickly and efficiently in several drills.
"So far, it looks like we've scored a lot of goals," said defenseman John Klingberg. "It looks like both units are moving the puck good, bringing the puck to the net and creating some second opportunities. We've just got to bring it into games."
Klingberg is leading the way on a unit with Radulov, Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. That's a change from a "first" unit that included Jamie Benn last season. Now, the captain is on a unit with Seguin, Miro Heiskanen, Ryan Suter and Denis Gurianov. Both groups have a lot of firepower, and the competition between the two should be fun.
"He's putting together two units that can score goals, so it's up to the units to want to be out there and show that they're the unit to score goals," Klingberg said.

The Klingberg unit has a lot of talent. Last year, the Stars started the season with one of the best power plays in the league in large part because Pavelski and Radulov had great chemistry. With Radulov back, there's a good chance the two will find each other again.
"Pavelski is probably the best tipper in the league and then you have Rads who's in front of the net instead of on the boards," Klingberg said. "I feel like Rads is a guy who wins a lot of puck battles. He's really strong, and it's really hard to defend him, so he's going to be a good guy in front of the net. Then you have Roope's speed and Robo is smart. I feel it's the type of unit that can bring a lot of pucks to the net in different ways."
Seguin has simply led the team in power-play points by 20 since coming here in 2013 and averages near a point a game overall. He was sorely missed last season, and his return should be able to help the power play immensely.
"He's a point-a-game player, and he's fully healthy," said Stars general manager Jim Nill. "He can make a huge difference for us."
Bowness said the disruptions caused by COVID and injuries last season took their toll on the man advantage. As good as it was in success rate, there were times when it failed late in games as the Stars were trying to make a push to get into the playoffs. Part of the problem was the lack of a second unit and part of the problem was lack of enough chances.

Dallas finished 18th in power-play opportunities at 157, and still finished eighth in power-play goals at 37.
Klingberg said a healthy team should not only be better once they get on special teams but should also get there a lot more.
"We're a team that should draw lot more penalties," Klingberg said. "You look at games and we might have one early in the game and then you get one late in the game, and then maybe you put more pressure on yourself than you have to. If you had a couple of more earlier in the game, you're probably going to feel a little bit better at the end of the game.
"If you play really good 5-on-5, then you play good 5-on-4 as well. Then you draw a lot more penalties because you have the puck more, so it all goes hand in hand."
As does the preparation and player deployment. The more man advantages the Stars get, the more the two units will be able to practice and forge chemistry.
"You look at the best power plays in the league and they've been together three, four, five, six years," Bowness said. "That power play in Tampa, they've been together for six years now, so it's automatic. The more you can keep those units together, the more you're going to have that chemistry."
The Stars units have only really been together for a few days, and they seem to be heading in the right direction.
"They're snapping it around out there," Bowness said. "That's a good sign."
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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.