That's huge for a Stars team who has struggled to score goals. In recent games, those three power play goals helped the Stars score 12 overall. It's a major boost from the 2.5 they were averaging for most of January and February.
"I think they both affect one another," said coach Pete DeBoer. "If you're struggling on the power play, that can affect your confidence at even strength."
Stars forward Tyler Seguin unleashed a one-timer on Wednesday and tallied a huge power play goal. It's the kind of shot that Seguin used to make on a regular basis in the past, but it has been rare in recent seasons. This could be a sign that good things are coming for him.
"Seggy has a great shot and I think we've got great guys on both units, so it's just great to see that it works again," defenseman Miro Heiskanen said.
The addition of Evgenii Dadonov in a trade with Montreal helps give the second unit a skilled player who is good at working the middle of the ice and also good at retrieving pucks.
"He's been an elite kind of `bumper' or middleman for a while in this league, and he brings us a different dimension for sure," DeBoer said.
The addition of Dadonov and the lessons learned from the slump could be important going forward.
"It's just try to play it simple, shoot the puck, move it quickly," Heiskanen said. "It shouldn't be too hard. Just try to do it simple and it's going to come for sure."
The Stars were clicking around 30 percent for the first 35 games this season, and that might be too lofty a pace to expect. But if the power play can be around 25 percent, the team's scoring woes could be a thing of the past.
"We've got to work our way out of it and find that swagger and confidence again," DeBoer said.
And that probably applies to more than just the power play.
Key Numbers
16
The Stars have 16 wins on the road and 16 wins at home. They are actually better on the road at 16-8-5 vs. 16-8-8 at home.
7
The Stars have allowed the first goal in seven of the past eight games. Dallas is third in the NHL on the season, scoring first in 36 games.
220
Dallas and Chicago are tied for 26th in the league in penalties drawn at 220 each.
He said it
"We've got to go on the road and have a better start. We've got to stop putting ourselves in a hole early in games. That's the big thing for me. There was a lot of good hockey played, we carried the play for long stretches after that, but you can't put yourself in those holes in this league."
- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on the team struggling with slow starts, including being down 2-0 to Arizona on Wednesday.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Marchment-Seguin-Dellandrea
Olofsson-Faksa-Karlstrom
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Hakanpää
Suter-Lundkvist
Murray
Oettinger
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.
