Gurianov helps Stars flip switch in victory over Blue Jackets

DALLAS --For much of Thursday's Stars game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it seemed like fans were watching a giant hourglass at center ice, with the hope of a possible playoff berth slowly trickling out like sand, grain by grain, in a painful pile that players were skating through.
And, then, in a flash, that all changed in a 4-1 victory.

WATCH: [All highlights from Stars' win over Blue Jackets]
Jason Dickinson jumped off the bench on a line change late in the second period, made a great save by keeping the puck onside, then flipped a pass to Denis Gurianov, who then converted his own rebound to tie the game. It was a huge goal for Gurianov, who has been in a slump this season, and a huge goal for the Stars, who grabbed the energy of that shift and built on it for the rest of the night.
"He was working and competing, and he got rewarded," Stars coach Rick Bowness said of Gurianov. "It's a big boost to the team when those things happen. Every night, when you want to win consistently in our league, you need someone different to step up and make a difference in the game. We needed contributions from everyone, but you need someone to step up at the right time to make a difference, and Denis did that."
Dallas had a 15-10 lead in shots on goal with a little more than three minutes left in the second period, but was down 1-0. In the final 24 minutes of the game, the Stars outshot the Blue Jackets 16-8 and outscored them 4-0.
Jamie Benn helped drive that line with Gurianov and Dickinson, as he won 13-of-15 faceoffs and was plus-3 on the night. In addition, Miro Heiskanen had another great game, and Bowness received a balanced attack that led the Stars to a 31-18 advantage in shots on goal and a 65-43 edge in shot attempts.

Asked what was helping his line click, Benn said: "Forechecking well and doing the right things without the puck. When you see guys all on the same page, they are all in the right spots at the right times. I thought we were doing that tonight."
It was a good time to start.
With Nashville and Chicago both losing on Thursday, the win allows Dallas (16-14-12) to move to within five points of fourth place Nashville (24-20-1) with three games in hand. Now, the hill still is pretty steep for the Stars, but it would have been a lot steeper if they hadn't been able to beat the struggling Blue Jackets.
If Dallas wants to get back into this race, then six games against the seventh- and eighth-place teams in the Central are a golden opportunity. Dallas plays Columbus twice at home (the rematch is Saturday at AAC), then Detroit twice at home, and then the Red Wings twice on the road. While the Stars have to take these one game at a time, they definitely will help their cause by stringing some wins together.
"We just got our legs going and started to get the forecheck going. That's what we are. Sometimes, it just takes a little while to get going," Bowness said of his team seeming flipping a switch in the game.
"Give them credit. They were on top of their game early, and it was the exact type of game that we knew was coming. When you play a John Tortorella team, they are going to work, and they are going to compete and be in your face all night. So, it just took a little while for us to get our game, and our rhythm, and our forecheck established. When we got that going, we were fine."

Gurianov is the perfect example of how fast things can change in this league. The 23-year-old winger who led the Stars with 20 goals last season, had just six in 41 games heading into Thursday. He had one goal in his previous 18 games, and the frustration seemed to be getting into his head.
So when he worked hard, moved his feet, and came up with a goal, it did visibly change the energy in his game -- and in thegame.
"I just try to not think about it too much and just go on the ice and play my game," Gurianov said of the recent struggles. "Sometimes the puck just doesn't go in the net. It happens, and that's OK. You just keep trying."
He and Benn have been working together for a little while, and Gurianov said he liked the chemistry of the line.
"We have good communication, and we are talking on the ice," Gurianov said. "We support each other. … It's really fun to play with these guys."
Benn said the entire team supports each other, so he had confidence Gurianov was going to find his stride.

"Just keep working with him, staying positive," Benn said. "We are trying to get better together and get more comfortable together. He's a good player and skates well, obviously. And he's got a heck of a shot, and I think if he uses those two traits of his game, good things will happen."
Heiskanen scored the go-ahead goal 1:19 after Gurianov's goal, and then Gurianov flipped in a seeing-eye shot for his second goal eight minutes into the third period for a 3-1 lead. Joe Pavelski added an insurance goal to make it 4-1, and that was important because the Stars need the momentum.
Yes, the top line has been playing well with Pavelski, Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, but if the line of Benn, Dickinson and Gurianov could also get hot, then maybe the wins could come with a little more regularity.
At the very least, the Stars could possibly start riding a wave of positivity that has been incredibly elusive this season. Because for 37 minutes Thursday, the sand seemed to be running out on this season…and any change from that mindset is extremely welcome.
"With this group, I think, if we get one goal we are going to get more," Benn said. "Denis got us going and we just kept rolling from there."
Now, they need to continue that roll.

Up next

vs. Blue Jackets; Saturday 7 p.m. CT
American Airlines Center
TV: Bally Sports Southwest Plus
Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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.