Heika's Take: Stars find their game again, enter break with two key wins

DALLAS --It's not really a blueprint for future victories, but the Stars did find a way to get their mojo back before heading into an unexpected Christmas Break.

Dallas was the better team Monday in a frenetic, highlight-filled 7-4 win over the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center. It stacked that victory on top of an equally non-traditional overtime win over the Blackhawks Saturday and now have two wins in a row as they stop for a few days because the NHL would like to get a hold on the pandemic that seems to be making a resurgence in North America.
The league has postponed the team's next two games (among dozens halted throughout the NHL) and have asked Dallas to return to practice on Dec. 26. In the meantime, the team will be able to sleep soundly, knowing that goals have been multiple, and some issues appear to be trending in the right direction.
"I think everyone left it out there on the table," said winger Jason Robertson, who finished with two assists. "It's a good feeling going into this little mini break we're having."

It was an unusual game that included a shorthanded goal from Esa Lindell, a 4-on-3 power play, and goals from seven different players. A team that has leaned heavily upon the top line with Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, was once again sparked by that trio, as Pavelski batted in a puck just 91 seconds into the game.
The Lindell goal followed, along with some back and forth between a Stars team that was hoping for a little revenge against a Wild team that beat them 7-2 a month ago and headed into the game 10 points ahead in the standings.
"We wanted to pay them back for the game we had in Minnesota," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "We wanted to come out hard, and we did that. We wanted to come out hard in the third period - a one-goal game and we were going after them - and we did."

Both were important. The fast start has become a trademark of home play, and a big reason the team now sits 11-3-1 at American Airlines Center. But just as important was the fact Dallas stood up to a pretty impressive charge from a talented Wild team led by Kirill Kaprizov.
When the game could've gone sideways, Denis Gurianov made his second great setup of the night, Miro Heiskanen cashed in a nice pass from Michael Raffl, and Jamie Benn added an empty netter. In between, Minnesota pulled its goalie with eight minutes left and scored a goal, but that just added to the challenges of the evening.
"They're a very good hockey team over there," Bowness said. "It was a hell of a hockey game."
The game was the only one on the NHL schedule and had plenty of fun moments. Seguin's goal was a beautiful one-timer and should give him confidence going froward. Gurianov's two assists were fantastic and should help him going forward. Even Heiskanen's goal was his first in 17 games and was dearly needed.

Now, the team has to try to remember a few things when practices resume, and the league ponders it's return to hockey.
If it's Dec. 27 against Nashville at home, that would be a perfect transition. If it's later on the road, that would be fine too. The Stars were schedule to play in Chicago on Thursday, and that would've been a great challenge, Bowness said.
"I was looking forward to going into Chicago and getting a road win, and that's obviously not happening," Bowness said of the shutdown. "We're still kind of digesting it, the whole thing here. I just heard about it after the game, so we've got to digest the game and then we'll figure out what we're doing. We're not doing anything until December 26 at two o'clock."
And that's actually probably fine. The team has battled its own illness bug, and the break will allow a few players to get fully healthy. Plus, Dallas has dealt well with stoppages in recent seasons, and could use the time of rest to maybe jump start another long run of wins.
"Last two games we won, so that helps," said Lindell. "It's huge."
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.