First Shift 🏒
The Stars have traditionally been a good penalty killing team, ranking fourth in the league since the team moved to Texas in 1993.
But the Lads in Victory Green hit a speed bump last year, ranking 17th while struggling with some inconsistency.
The downturn was balanced by having the most prolific power play in the league, but it still ate at the PKers, who wanted to fix things this year. So far, so good. Dallas is currently tied for first in the league in penalty killing success rate at 89.7 percent.
It’s been a big reason the team sits third in GAA at 2.29 and the team is 10-5-2, despite some offensive struggles.
“It’s a huge part of who we are,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “It’s not just how many, but when. We have come up with some big kills that have helped us win games.”
In a 4-3 win over San Jose on Saturday, the Stars killed 5 of 6 penalties and only allowed one goal on a two-man advantage. It’s been a great trend for Dallas early in the season.
“I just think everyone is connected,” said defenseman Tyler Myers, who played 6:03 shorthanded in that game. “We’re pressuring at the right time, we’re not taking ourselves out of it very often, and when we do we have people to back us up.”
As good as Myers and Esa Lindell have been on defense, the PK is loaded. Heiskanen is a regular when he is healthy, and stepped up big when Lindell was hurt for five games. In addition, the forward group is balanced, with Sam Steel, Radek Faksa, Oskar Bäck and Arttu Hyry each playing key roles, and Colin Blackwell and Joel Kiviranta subbing in when needed.
It’s a good rotation.
“We’ve got lots of guys who take pride in checking, who take pride in blocking shots and getting in lanes,” Gulutzan said. “Their attention to defensive detail is very high. You see that in our 5-on-5 numbers and you see it in our PK numbers. We very rarely beat ourselves.”
Lindell is a big reason for that. He played 7:24 shorthanded on Saturday and typically leads the NHL in shorthanded time on ice. In his 778-game NHL career, Lindell has played 300 more shorthanded minutes than any other player in that span.
“He’s very efficient,” said Myers. “It doesn’t ever look like he’s stressing himself out there, but he’s always in the right position. He could probably stay out there the whole two minutes.”
That attitude is contagious.
“Everybody sees it,” said Steel. “He’s special. His reads are so good, same with his stick. He’s so composed back there, he keeps everybody calm.”
The PK is led by assistant coach Alain Nasreddine, and both players and fellow coaches say he is a big part of the success.
“Nas is always there for us,” said Steel. “He comes down to the end of the bench and makes some small micro adjustments. He’s always on top of that.”
Gulutzan said Nasreddine is like that before each game, scouting the opposing power play and finding different ways to make things difficult. Of course, the goaltending of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith is always there to help out, and the combination seems to work.
“It seems like we’re making the right reads most of the time, and I think that’s because everyone is doing their job and that makes it easier,” Myers said.
