Burnside: Five takeaways from Stars' wild 6-1 blowout win over Florida

The Dallas Stars continue to light it up offensively as they whipped the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Tuesday night in a fight-filled affair at American Airlines Center.
Here are some contemplations on a night that hearkened back to the 1970s.

1. The 1970s Flyers called and they want their game back

We used that line at Ken Hitchcock's postgame media briefing. No one found it funny then either. But let's start with the premise that this was a weirdo game as two teams that see each other twice a year behaved just like the Broad Street Bullies and the "Big, Bad Bruins" of the 1970s.
And whether you believe that fighting has a role anymore -- we'll reiterate that if we never see another hockey fight, it'll be okay -- it was very much a prominent theme on this night.
It was so not just for the number of fights -- there were four fights in the first period alone and two near the end of the third period, plus three game misconducts -- but how the teams responded to the fights. And the response from the Stars' side of the equation was to stay on task and fill the Florida net.
"It was intense and emotional," said Stars forward Devin Shore, who was one of the Stars' best forwards on this night. "I think it's important in games like that to stick together and have each other's backs. Obviously, no two games are the same, and there are going to be games like that. On a given night, this one particular, there is a certain way we had to win and it was physical, and there was a lot of fights, obviously, and whatnot. That's going to happen sometimes.
"It's 20 pretty intense guys on each side that really want to win. When fights come about because of that, that's fine; you answer the bell. And I thought we did a good job of that and we stuck together as a team."
It all began, seemingly, with Florida netminder James Reimer going down with what appeared to be a groin or some sort of core-body injury on a play in which Antoine Roussel was providing a screen less than four minutes into the game. Replays showed no contact between Roussel and Reimer, who left the game and did not return, but it didn't stop Panthers players from taking umbrage. That led to Keith Yandle and Roussel fighting.
And that begat many more scrums and fights and game misconducts -- and, well, plenty of mayhem.
When that happens, it can sometimes suck the life out of your bench. Lines are jumbled, matchups altered. Often, good for the road team, but credit the Stars for finding a way not to let it disrupt the final outcome.
"I've been in so many like that, you've just got to guard against trying to get the last punch in, and I don't know, boys will be boys," Hitchcock said. "It was a wake-up call that we got early in the game."
The team had to respond or risk getting pushed out of the building, Hitchcock added. And they responded.

2. That's why they're called the 'big line' (or something like that)

There really isn't a name for the Alexander Radulov, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin forward unit, which is fine since those kinds of names are usually lame (unless we come up with them ourselves). But with the game plodding along in the second period and the Stars, up a single goal, looking more than a little listless -- guilty of multiple icings and general lethargy -- the big line changed the chemical composition of the game.
It happened, as these things often do, out of nowhere. But there was Radulov controlling the puck along the boards in the offensive zone, going forehand to backhand before whipping a laser of a backhand pass to the front of the net. Benn took the pass in stride and went backhand to give the Stars the 2-0 lead.
With the Panthers in penalty trouble, Radulov then made it a three-goal bulge 3:14 later on a 5-on-3 before adding a breakaway marker as part of a three-goal outburst in the third period.
It's sort of how they roll. And it's sort of a good thing for the Stars.
The goals were Radulov's 19th and 20th of the season. He had 18 all of last year with Montreal and he continues to act as a kind of emotional talisman for a Stars team that now has gone 10-3-1 in their last 14 games and has not lost back-to-back in regulation in more than a month.
"It's a long season," Radulov said. "Sometimes, you don't get those bounces or whatever, you don't get scoring much as you should, and then, we've been through that for a while in the first half of the season. Right now, yeah, we get two games with the more than five goals, so it's good. but (the) next game is going to be whole different story -- and new page, new game and new life, basically.
"So we have to just prepare ourselves, get ready. We need those points. That's the bottom line."

3. Bish mode

For the second game in a row, we bring you some words on the goaltender when the score suggests goaltending was a non-factor.
But perhaps even more so than Saturday in Buffalo, when Kari Lehtonen was solid in a game that turned into a 7-1 rout, thanks to four second-period goals, Ben Bishop was quietly critical to this blowout win Tuesday.
With the first period a frenzy of fights and minor penalties, and the second strangely devoid of emotion from the Dallas perspective early on, what was evident from Bishop was a calmness that was in direct opposition to the mayhem around him.
Florida finished with 34 shots on net and only an Aaron Ekblad power-play marker with less than five minutes to go in the second period eluded Bishop. Even after that, Bishop made key stops to keep the game from becoming a one-goal affair, getting a right arm on a Connor Brickley attempt on a 2-on-1 at the end of a Florida penalty. And he denied Vincent Trocheck on a breakaway with another right arm effort right after Mattias Janmark had made it 4-1.
Bishop has now allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his last nine appearances. He is 6-2-1 in his last nine decisions.
"He was very quiet in his positioning. He had a lot of traffic because Florida plays that jam game; it's really difficult for goaltenders," Hitchcock said. "I thought he really managed his crease well and made some big saves."

4. Shore resurfaces

We mentioned Shore and his one goal, one assist performance on this night. The goal was his first in eight games, and just his sixth of the season. But there are signs that, offensively, Shore is finding a nice groove, even though he prefers to focus on the details part of the game as opposed to his own personal numbers.
"It's good for the confidence, but I think at this point in the season, you derive your confidence from stuff other than results," the thoughtful winger said. "Obviously, it's a results-driven league, but the results we're focused on at this point in the year, really, we should be focusing on at all times, is getting the wins and keep collecting the two points.
"It feels good to contribute, but you get your confidence from other ways, at this time, for me, at least."
Shore's goal came on a nice deflection of a John Klingberg point shot during a first-period power play. It was the first man-advantage goal of the season for Shore, who has been a staple on the team's first power-play unit for much of the year.
One of the reasons for a midseason renaissance from the hard-working Shore might be a switch to the left side with Janmark moving to the right side.
"He's really starting to play well, I think the move to left wing has really helped him," Hitchcock said. "He's got speed, he's got tempo, he's got patience with the puck. Now, he looks like a real player right now. He looks like a guy that's got a lot of 200-foot game in him."

5. Issues in the middle

With Martin Hanzal unlikely to play Thursday at home against Toronto in the team's final game before the NHL's All-Star Break, it's audition time for Jason Dickinson, who was called up from the Stars' American Hockey League affiliate prior to Tuesday's game.
Hard game to judge the 22-year-old, who was the 29th-overall pick in the 2013 draft. He took two minor penalties and the Panthers scored on the one. Both were stick fouls, which Hitchcock said are correctable.
But with Hanzal out and his health an ongoing issue, Hitchcock is looking for Dickinson, who played just 7:52 -- fewest of all Dallas forwards -- to create a place for himself down the middle with strong play.
There's also ongoing observance of Jason Spezza's game as the veteran forward is back playing his natural position at center, with Janmark and Shore, as the Stars continue to monitor what has been a strength for them all season: Depth down the middle.
"We need Spezza to continue to improve and we need Dickinson to step up and really grab this opportunity," Hitchcock said. "He's got the size, he's got the ability, he's got the hockey (sense). For me, this is a real opportunity for Dickey."
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.