First Shift 🏒
Maybe missing Rantanen for a game was a good thing.
The Stars played Tuesday without their leading scorer, who was battling illness, and had one of their best offensive games in a month. It wasn’t a direct correlation to say the team is better without Rantanen, but it is interesting to see what the rest of the lineup can do when asked to step up.
Hryckowian had one of his best games with a goal and two assists while winning 10 of 13 faceoffs. Mavrik Bourque scored on the power play. Esa Lindell tallied his fifth goal of the season. Duchene played 18 minutes and had three shots on goal.
These are good things for the Stars.
“It’s a testament to our guys,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We changed the lines around and good for our guys, they picked it up for sure.”
Bourque slotted onto a line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, and Robertson finished with two goals. Duchene was moved to center on a line with Wyatt Johnston (who moved to right wing) and Sam Steel. And Hryckowian centered a line with Oskar Bäck and Benn. It was a group that showed some chemistry but also showed a different mindset.
Dallas, which had been struggling in the puck possession department, had a 37-18 advantage in shots on goal, including a 17-5 edge in the second period (a sore spot all year).
“We made some adjustments,” Gulutzan said. “For 15 games, we weren’t shooting the puck enough. Sometimes, you just got to get pucks to the net, and we did a good job.”
A huge part of that was a dominating night in the faceoff circle, which led to the opportunity to play simple hockey. Dallas won 65 percent of its draws, and when they did, they often sent the puck to the net. That’s how Lindell scored his goal, and that’s how they wore down Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman, who was pulled in the third period.
“There was not much he could do tonight,” said Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who will be a teammate of Swayman on the U.S. Olympic team. “We were all over them and had a ton of chances.”
The key now is to do that again whether or not Rantanen returns on Thursday. The blueprint is there, as Dallas had been one of the top offensive teams in the NHL before the recent 2-6-4 slump. So can they carry that forward into a quick stop in Columbus, and the follow up with a home game against St. Louis on Friday?
“We needed it bad. We feel we haven’t dominated in a while and this goes to show us that we’re still one of the best teams in the league,” Oettinger said. “We’ve had a rough patch, but every team goes through that. Hopefully, we can carry the swagger we got from tonight into the next seven games we’ve got before the break.”
It's certainly a good sign for a player like Hryckowian, an undrafted free agent who was the AHL Rookie of the Year last season.
“Just be ready to go when your name is called,” Hryckowian said of the extra opportunity. “I thought the boys all came together and we did it by committee tonight.”
The 24-year-old rookie has been earning a lot of respect in the dressing room this year.
“He’s been unreal,” Oettinger said. “He’s an awesome guy who works his butt off every day. He takes his game very seriously. He’s always one of the first guys at the rink and everyone here knows how good he is. He’s going to be such a big piece of this team moving forward, the best is yet to come.”
And the hope is that goes for the whole group.
“We got away from the micro stuff and got into the macro stuff,” Gulutzan said. “Actually, we talked tonight about doing everything your dad told you growing up – work hard, get pucks to the net, win your battles. And one other thing…let’s have some fun doing it.”
