Heika's Take: An example of adaptability and instinctive connection

The Stars had an odd day Saturday, but they found a way to make the most of it.
Scott Wedgewood returned from a back injury, which meant the Stars could call up Matej Blumel from the AHL after he was sent down just a day earlier. Roope Hintz was pulled out of the lineup with a lower body injury, despite skating in warmup. Because Denis Gurianov is still out with an injury, defenseman Joel Hanley came in and played forward, just to help the jigsaw puzzle of a lineup fit together.

Along the way to shuffling through everything, coach Pete DeBoer put Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin together and the old linemates found familiar territory, leading Dallas to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders at American Airlines Center. Benn had a goal and two assists, while Seguin had assists and linemate Mason Marchment had a goal and an assist. Each player was plus-3 on a night when the Stars needed the contributions to move to 11-5-2.
"It's one of those games where you can find out a lot about your group," DeBoer said. "You have every excuse in the world to kind of mail it in - Roope's out, we're coming back off the road, Gurianov is out - and I thought we dug deep and showed what our group is about."

Benn and Seguin were at the tip of the spear. The old buddies have been split up this year and didn't even start this game together. However, they found themselves on the ice with Radek Faksa after a penalty kill ended, and the trio made a magical goal. Benn stickhandled around a couple of defenders, slipped the puck to Seguin, and Seguin whipped it over to a wide-open Faksa to tie the game. It was a fun moment, and one that led DeBoer to stick with the duo and Marchment for the rest of the night.
"They turned the clock back tonight," DeBoer said of Benn and Seguin. "They kind of got out there on a line change and made the first part happen, and from that point on, I kind of decided to keep them together. That line was great tonight."
Seguin said the night was fun.
"It felt pretty good," Seguin said. "It's funny how you can take a break from a guy and play with him so long and it was knowing where he is and him knowing where I was."
Benn added that he too felt the chemistry.
"It was fun," Benn said. "We've been together for 10 years now and been through a lot together, and it was fun to get out there and zip that puck around a little bit."

The chemistry showed the versatility of the team. The top line was hobbled by the absence of Hintz, but Wyatt Johnston stepped up in Hintz' place. This meant that Benn was looking for a new linemate. Eventually, it led to Benn jumping in on a line with Seguin and Marchment. The trio worked well, as Marchment scored off a pretty pass from Benn to tie the game in the second period, and Benn scored off a pretty pass from Marchment for the game-winner.
All that work set up the turning point of the game and Ryan Suter swiped a puck off the goal line after a mad scramble in front of Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, which could have tied the game. Then, at the other end of the ice, Jason Robertson whipped in his 12th goal of the season with 3:33 remaining in the third period to put the game away. Jani Hakanpää added an empty-net goal for the final, which was appropriate when you consider just how everyone contributed to the game.
Dallas killed four of five penalties and Joel Kiviranta, Ty Dellandrea, Faksa and Luke Glendening each played more than three minutes on the kill. The defense also dug in, with Esa Lindell logging 5:27 shorthanded. Nine different players recorded at least one point, including Oettinger, who made 27 saves in the win.
"That was a gutsy win tonight, missing a few guys, missing probably our best player in Roope, and some guys sick, and just a weird day coming off a long road trip," Seguin said. "Gutsy win."

And as for his linemate, well, he was pretty gutsy himself. After Benn made two dazzling assists and also roofed a backhand shot for his eight goal of the season, nobody was questioning whether he had lost a step or not.
"He's doing a good job on that first power play unit and that's giving him that swag there, and 5-on-5 he's been dominant," Seguin said of Benn.
Then, he added: "He's got some skill in the tank still…Tweet it."
Or you could just watch the highlights.
"It's awesome," Hakanpaa said when asked about watching Benn have some big nights. "Since I got here, I've always liked the guy. He's a really likeable guy. He's one of those guys you want to be good and make a difference. It's nice to see him getting rewarded for all of the hard work."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika
is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter

.