'Determined to win,' Stars make statement with impressive victory

WINNIPEG, Manitoba --They ran a graphic on the big board at Bell MTS Place on Monday that exclaimed the Jets have the second-most wins in the NHL since the start of last season.
They also reported that Winnipeg has the second-best home record in that span.
It shouldn't really be a surprise -- the Jets are that good. They headed into Monday's meeting with Dallas on a 5-1-0 run and are on their way to their first Central Division championship.

It was a real test for a Stars team that had not been getting a lot of passing grades lately.
So when you watched Dallas methodically control the game en route to a 5-2 win, you had to be impressed.

"We played a perfect road game and we deserved to win," said forward Andrew Cogliano. "We were determined to win."
This was a hard game in a hard arena against one of the NHL's best, and the Stars were simply the better team. They easily could have bowed to pressure, they easily could have choked.
And they didn't.
They didn't overreact when they couldn't beat Connor Hellebucyk early. They didn't overreact when the bounces went the other way. They didn't overreact when the hockey gods descended from the heavens and tweaked their nose. C'mon, this team is hard scoring, it struggles to convert even the shiniest of chances.
That's how they lost to Pittsburgh Saturday. That's how they lost to Colorado on Thursday. That's why they're in this spot they're in.

So when Miro Heiskanen flipped a backhand into a seemingly gaping net, there was nothing that could get in the way, right? Well, nothing except Mark Scheifele's trick stick. The Jets' talented center was prowling the goal line and knocked the puck away inches from a good hockey goal.
It was the kind of play that could define a game, that could define a season. If the Stars' lose this contest, we look at that play. If the Stars miss the playoffs, we look at that play.
Yeah, it was a big deal.
So the fact that Scheifele made his save with 6:27 remaining in the first period and Dallas didn't score until 10:27 of the second period meant something. It meant the Stars had to remain calm and play their game to a tee. It meant they had to stay on the game plan. It meant they had to be the better team.
They were -- in so many different ways.

They were more determined, smarter, more disciplined. They earned their goals by winning 1-on-1 battles and spending more time in the offensive zone. They earned their goals by going to the net and forcing Hellebucyk to battle traffic.
"We had lots of chances and didn't score, but we played the same game in the second period and got rewarded," said Radek Faksa, who scored twice and now has 15 goals on the season.
It's not impossible. Even good goalies will allow the puck to eek past if you create enough distractions. The Stars did that, and players like Esa Lindell and Radek Faksa were rewarded. Tyler Seguin scored twice and continues to be the team's most consistent offensive player. Ben Bishop made the needed saves and tacked on an assist.
"It was an important game for us," said Bishop, who had 21 saves to get his 200th career win. "Obviously, it wasn't the best homestand and this is a big road trip with the top two teams in each division. Obviously, it's nice to start off like this."
The Stars dug their hole with a 1-3-1 homestand. They know they have to step up here on the road. But knowing and doing are two different things. They've known all year they needed better starts. This time, they earned a better start.

"What I liked was we wanted to show a lot of desperation and we wanted to win a lot of 1-on-1 battles, and we did that," Montgomery said. "We didn't lose our focus."
This team is shuffling lines, moving forwards in and out of the lineup, adjusting. That's what you do when you haven't yet clinched a playoff spot. But the fact they are making those tweaks and seeing them work, that's a positive.
Knowing they walked into Winnipeg and beat the Jets when they might be back here in two weeks, that's important.
The Jets just beat Nashville and might have lacked some emotion Monday. They are one of the best teams in the league and they didn't have their best effort against the Stars.
So maybe this isn't the confidence-building statement game we'd all like it to be.

"I don't think there is any correlation," Montgomery said about a possible preview to the playoffs. "The building is going to be 20 times louder, and the emotion and energy right from the start is going to be significantly higher."
Still, that doesn't mean the win wasn't great. The Stars are now in a much better place to force a rematch in the first round of the playoffs.
"We've been playing well lately and we just haven't gotten the results, so it's nice to get the results," Bishop said. "We'll take it, enjoy it for a minute and get ready for Calgary."
Because the challenges just keep on coming.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.