Klingberg might be playing best hockey of career for Stars

DALLAS -- John Klingberg's resume is impressive.
Since joining the Stars in 2014, he leads the team in time on ice and SAT (shot attempt differential at even strength), and is second in plus-minus and third in points. He ranks 10th among all NHL defensemen in points during that span and is 18th in SAT.

But as consistent as the 28-year-old defenseman has been, he might be playing the best hockey of his career right now. Klingberg had a goal and an assist Tuesday in a
2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings
and now has six points (one goal, five assists) in his first three games.

"You go back to the playoffs in Edmonton, and Klinger was our best defenseman," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "He played outstanding hockey and competed hard and he wants the ball right now. He was that way in the playoffs and he wants to be out there in all the key situations and wants the puck, and that's when he's at his best. It's nice to see him getting rewarded."
Klingberg is one of the Stars leaders, and with captain Jamie Benn out, he is the alternate captain with the most seniority. He also is a guy who prides himself in doing a lot of the little things right. On the game-winning goal in overtime, Klingberg tipped a puck away from Detroit's Anthony Mantha to foil a scoring chance, and then helped lead a rush up ice that led to Jason Dickinson's one-timer.
It was a great example that he's more than just a skilled defenseman.

"If we're being honest with ourselves, I got absolutely burned by Mantha to start the 3-on-3," Dickinson said. "That could have easily gone in the net and we'd be sitting here having a whole different conversation. I'm lucky I've got guys out there that are protecting my back. Klinger cuts him off and makes it easy for me to pick up the puck behind the net and we're able to go from there."
Last season in 26 playoff games, Klingberg had 59 hits and 30 blocked shots.
"He's doing very well defensively for us," Bowness said. You have a ton of confidence that things are going to be OK when he's on the ice right now."

As for the offense, it's something he prides himself on.
"It's something that I've obviously been working on throughout my career," he said of the ability to delay and make a shot from the point. "I think you need to work on things you're good at to stay good at it, and you need to work on areas you need to improve on and that's something I always try to do.
"I try to be moving and that's been a big part of my game. It's not something I think about during the game it's just something that comes naturally."

Pysyk jumps up to play forward

Defenseman Mark Pysyk played a lot of forward last season for the Florida Panthers, so he knows how to do it. That said, the Stars weren't expecting he would do it much this season when they signed him as a free agent.
But Roope Hintz
had an injury worsen Tuesday
, and the Stars were limited by the fact they carry two extra defensemen, so Pysyk jumped up and played right wing in a 2-1 OT win against the Detroit Red Wings.
"We signed Mark to play defense," Bowness said. "Fortunately for us, he played right wing in Florida last year. His career is as a defenseman, that's why we signed him, but we got put in a position tonight that we had to put him on right wing, and he did a wonderful job for us. He did the job we needed him to do.
"That line did a great job of forechecking and grinding it out, so he played an important part of that win."
Pysyk said he didn't find out until he showed up for the game.

"When I got here tonight, Bones came and told me," Pysyk said. "It's definitely something I've been through before, so it's not quite as big of a shock. Having said that, it's different systems here and everything. I've been really focusing and worried about what to do as a defenseman here so there were definitely a lot of questions I had for my linemates."
Pysyk joked that he was annoying.
"They've been playing forward for a lot longer than me," he said. "They were patient with me and I told them right from the start: 'This is probably going to get annoying all my questions.' Every faceoff, every time we jump over the boards, I was asking them."
Bowness said he appreciated Pysyk's positive attitude about the challenge.
"It's rare that you can find a guy that can do that, and handle it mentally," Bowness said. "Some defensemen would look at that as an insult, right? 'He asked me to play forward.' But it's the needs of the team, it's the needs of the time, and we're lucky that we have Mark that can fill that role."

Odds and ends

Stars vs. Red Wings

Thursday, 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: FOX Sports Southwest
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.