'FCC' line hopes to make bigger impact for Stars with more goals

FRISCO, Texas --The "FCC" line is the epitome of Stars' hockey.

The checking line of Radek Faksa with Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano exemplifies the tenacious defense and "hard to play against" mentality that Dallas wants to take to the ice every game. Not so coincidentally, they also embody the desire to improve goal scoring that has been talked about so much as the team gets ready for the NHL's Return to Play in Edmonton next month.

"I think all three of us need to push to do more offensively," Cogliano said Tuesday. "We've been a line that's been really solid and very consistent, but we're in a position where we could really capitalize on creating more offense from playing good defensively. We're so strong defensively in terms of how we play, we should really be turning that into more offense and trying to get going the other way and tilt the ice on teams."

The Stars love to talk about creating offense from defense, and the FCC line has the ability to do that. Not only can they create turnovers that lead to great scoring chances in transition, they also can get the puck, push hard into the offensive zone, and set up camp. It's not unusual for the line to spend 30-45 seconds cycling the puck and driving the opposition crazy.

That's incredibly effective when they're doing it against the other team's best offensive players. Not only does it keep them out of the Stars' end of the ice, it tires them out and frustrates them. So if they just keep doing that, we should all be happy, right?

"Any time we're showing the team video of our neutral zone forecheck or our forecheck or our backcheck or our D-zone coverage, you can find clips of those guys very easily," Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. "They know the game, they read off of each other very well, so they are very sound defensively and very reliable."

That said, fans can get frustrated by the lack of creativity when the line is on the ice, because they not only diffuse the opposition's puck handling, they can also the air out of the Victory Green game. But for a team that ranks in the top two or three in goals against both in the regular season and the playoffs over the past two seasons, that's a very impressive performance.

"We're there to do our job, and I think that's what's leaned upon us every night -- to play the right way and to set an example, to be a tough line to play against," Cogliano said of the line's primary goal.

While Comeau added that the line knows the expectations and works very hard to meet them.

"We've played a lot together the last few years. We've all got a really good feel for how each other plays and we have a dynamic as a line which gives us our identity," Comeau said. "We know what our role is and we're just going to pick up where we left off."

But what if ...

What if they could add an extra goal here or there?

READ MORE: [Video: Cogliano on how Stars can be successful in playoffs]

Faksa has 11 goals in 66 games. He had 15 in 81 games in 2018-19, and 17 in 79 games in 2017-18. He is a legitimate offensive talent that has scored in the past. He's ninth on the team in shots on goal at 109. He can create.

Comeau has eight goals in 55 games. While he had just seven in 77 games last season, he had 15 goals among 34 points for Colorado in 2017-18.

Cogliano has just three goals in 68 games this season and seems to have the most room for improvement. He had 12 goals among 35 points in 80 games for Anaheim in 2017-18.

"I like his passion," said Faksa of the 33-year-old Cogliano, who has great speed and focuses on physical fitness. "You always know he will bring 130 percent every game. If you have a bad day, you want to work hard for him, because you don't want to disappoint him, because you see how hard he is working."

Cogliano said he believes all three players have offensive talent and that each can improve his scoring a little.

"We're all trying to create more offense as a team," Cogliano said. "When we get opportunities to get to the net and cycle, and get opportunities to score, we have to make the most of it. We've been a consistent line and we all enjoy playing with each other, and we're a line that feeds off of each other when we're playing well."

And that would be the perfect catalyst for the team to maybe take that next step forward. The FCC line is already among the leaders in this training camp, pushing the pace and creating energy, so why not lead the way with an extra goal here and there, as well?

"They have a lot of jump. They're a very hungry line, and they love this stuff," Bowness said of the line's training camp performance. "They're a frustrating line to play against because they're always in your face, and defensively, they're always where they're supposed to be. They don't very make many mistakes. That's good to see, because we're going to need that line moving forward here."

And maybe in more ways than what we've seen in the past.

Photo credit: Jeff Toates / Dallas Stars

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Video: Cogliano on how Stars can be successful in playoffsis a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter Video: Cogliano on how Stars can be successful in playoffs, and listen to his Video: Cogliano on how Stars can be successful in playoffs.