First Shift 🏒
In his first two seasons with the Dallas Stars, Duchene was lights out.
After a buyout from the Nashville Predators, the veteran center came in and exceeded expectations, tallying 82 points (30 goals, 52 assists) last season and helping the Stars become one of the top teams in the NHL.
Dallas is again near the top of the standings, but Duchene’s numbers (7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points) are down this season for a number of reasons. One, his two favorite linemates are gone as Tyler Seguin is injured and Mason Marchment has been traded. And two, he had a concussion earlier in the season and the lingering effects really seemed to slow him down.
But 28 games into his season, Duchene might be turning the corner.
The now-35-year-old forward has three goals in his past two games, giving him a boost in confidence.
“There’s been nothing predictable for me the whole season, so it’s nice to get a little bit of traction and you just want to hopefully ride the wave and keep on doing it,” Duchene said.
That would be a great thing for a Stars team that has been struggled in the new year but is 3-1-0 in its past four. As it prepares to play at Vegas Thursday, it is looking for a bit more consistency, and Duchene can be a big part of that. While coach Glen Gulutzan has been moving Duchene around the lineup and even from center to wing, he said hs is hoping to find the right spot for his veteran.
“I know he can play wing, but I know he’s best at center, so that’s what we’re trying to do,” Gulutzan said.
Duchene has been playing with fellow veteran Jamie Benn and that has been a nice fit.
“I think our line was really solid,” Duchene said after a two-goal night against the Blues on Tuesday. Duchene was trying to center a pass to Benn in the second period when the puck deflected in off a defender. It was the kind of lucky bounce that team shave to earn.
“On the second one, Jamie was pushing out and creating room underneath and going hard to the back post,” Duchene said. “He doesn’t get a point on the play, but he had as big an effect on the play as anyone.”
That’s the kind of play the line has been making in recent games, and it has just taken a little time for goals to start coming.
“There have been some games where the puck hasn’t bounced the way that it should have and tonight it did. That’s kind of the way it goes,” Duchene said.
“I’ve been through this literally 100 times in my career where you do some good things and it doesn’t go, and then eventually you get one game and it turns everything,” he added. “So you just have to keep pushing.”
It’s a lesson he’s learned from 1,166 career regular season games, and also from one of the most challenging seasons of his life.
“I don’t think I appreciated how much that injury put you behind the 8-Ball,” he said. “I think my game is coming now, and my poise, I feel more comfortable with the puck. Scoring helps, it always helps.”
And scoring for a team that has a chance to do something big in the playoffs is a very sweet carrot dangling out there.
“I’m just trying to get my game where it needs to be for the stretch before the playoffs, and hopefully into the playoffs,” he said.
