First Shift 🏒
Since returning from the Olympic Break, the Stars are 9-2-2 while scoring 3.51 goals per game.
And they have done that while missing key offensive players in Rantanen and Roope Hintz.
So it’s interesting this week that the team is hoping to shake off a little rust from a four-game stretch in which they went 1-2-1 and scored just seven goals.
“You can see a little bit of our offense is drying up, just what we’re generating,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said after a 3-2 loss to Vegas on Sunday. “We survived this stretch with some guys out - some key offensive guys. We’ve played really hard and at some point, you’re going to have a little bit of a lull or a dip. That’s a natural part of the season. So, you can see the last few games, we just have not generated the same amount as we were for a while, and that’s part of the ebbs and flows.”
To be honest, the fact the Stars have been able to thrive during this stretch is impressive. Now, the top dogs have been carrying the mail, as Johnston (9 goals, 7 assists) and Robertson 6 goals, 10 assists) each have 16 points in the past 13 games. In addition, Duchene (3 goals, 11 assists) and Miro Heiskanen (2 goals, 11 assists) are each at a point a game, and that’s been great support. Meanwhile, Sam Steel has five goals, Benn has five goals and Justin Hryckowian and Nathan Bastian each have three.
But what happens if they can’t continue those numbers while the team waits for Rantanen (possibly 4-5 games away) and Hintz (closer to the playoffs) to get back?
“It's kind of what it's like in the playoffs,” said Johnston. “We’re not going to go in and expect to win 5-4 every night, and I think we’ve been defending well.”
And that has been the key for the Stars. During this stretch, they are third in the league in GAA at 2.23. And that’s going to typically mean the game is lower scoring overall.
“I like where we are,” Gulutzan said. “We have dipped a little bit and we’re going to work our way out of it. But what I do like is we have survived a heavy stretch of emotional games and done very well. The way we have survived is we have worked, and you can still see that in our game. Some of the offense isn’t quite cooking as it has in the past, so we need to get that back.”
