Heika's Take: Skirmishes, fights, goals and a win for Stars in El Paso

Maybe a night in El Paso was just what the Stars needed.
Stumbling through a scrambly preseason and looking for some cohesion, Dallas on Sunday earned a 6-3 win over new Central Division rival Arizona while scoring some huge goals and getting in a few skirmishes. It was a burst of emotion that could go a long way in helping the team get ready for the season opener Oct. 14 in New York against the Rangers.

The Stars and Coyotes joined forces to help the City of El Paso celebrate its naming as the 2020 winner of "Kraft Hockeyville USA." The El Paso County Events Center received $150,000 in upgrades and was able to host a preseason game. It was a big night with a lot of energy.

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"It was a great atmosphere," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said of the game played in the cozy atmosphere. "It was a great game for the fans, it was a great game for us. It's been a wonderful experience."

The Stars needed it. They were off to an 0-1-2 start and coming off a disappointing 6-3 loss in Florida on Friday. They also were shuffling lineups and trying to find some positivity. On Sunday, they struck gold.
While the Coyotes were scrappy and took a few leads, Dallas battled back and tallied some big goals. Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists, Miro Heiskanen had three assists, and Tyler Seguin and Thomas Harley each had a goal and an assist. The Stars' special teams stepped up, and the team made big plays at big moments.

The penalty kill was huge in the third period and that opened the door for Seguin to score a power-play goal to open up a 5-3 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the game. Dallas had let a third period lead slip away on Wednesday against Florida and had lost in both overtime and the shootout this week.
So, making big plays was nice.
"We needed that," Bowness said. "The penalty kill came up with a huge kill in the third, and the power play came up with the game-clinching goal, so we needed that. Our power play, we have two very strong units out there and the longer they're together, the better they're going to get."
Dallas had a pretty loaded lineup, using Benn, Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, Radek Faksa and Denis Gurianov among the forward group, and getting big minutes from Heiskanen, John Klingberg and Ryan Suter on defense. Jake Oettinger played the entire game in net and stopped 14 of 17 shots.

Radulov received a five-minute major for fighting, and there were several scrums across the ice at different times. It really had the feel of an old-fashioned game that many of the players played in their youth.
"We all grew up playing in rinks like this," Oettinger said. "It reminds me of when I played in junior. It was a great crowd, great atmosphere and brought us back to our roots."

Now, the Stars need to carry that feeling to a preseason game at American Airlines Center Tuesday against St. Louis. While the cuts continue, Dallas will get closer to its opening night roster and will start seeking the chemistry that's expected to be built in the preseason.
"We've got to be careful because we're going into Thursday/Saturday games, so we'll probably take Wednesday being a day off so they're rested and we have enough in the tank to play good games Thursday and Saturday," Bowness said. "So, we'll monitor that."
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.