Heika’s Take: Stars capture important win

While it would be easy to point out the flaws in the Stars’ season opener on Thursday, Dallas actually had a very good first night back.

Sure, there were inconsistencies and some mistakes along the way, but there was also a lot to like within the Stars’ game.

One, the team overcame a bad second period and controlled much of the game in the third period and overtime.

Two, they utilized a lot of lessons that they worked on in overtime and found multiple ways to almost win the game in the extra session.

And three, newcomer Matt Duchene scored in the shootout to help Dallas get a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues at American Airlines Center.

All in all, that has to be considered a success.

“When we play the way we can, we roll and roll and roll and I think we eventually wear the other team down,” said Duchene of his first game with his new team. “We had to use our grit and work ethic and our legs a little bit more. Those aren’t fun ones to play, but you just dig deep and do whatever it takes to get the win.”

And that’s a pretty good feeling after an uneven training camp that featured some key injuries to Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Radek Faksa. Hintz is still out with an upper-body injury (even though the decision was labeled as more of a precaution), and there also was residue from having to shuffle lines because of what injuries did to the team’s preparation. They struggled a little with their chemistry because of it, but also fought through issues and wound up getting better as the game went on. Dallas outshot St. Louis 10-3 in the third period, and could have secured the win had it not been for the strong work of Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. Even in overtime, he had all of the answers.

“I thought both goalies were outstanding,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said of Binnington (33 saves) and Jake Oettinger (23 saves). “Jake made some key saves in the second period. We just about self-destructed with turnovers and penalties, and he bailed us out.”

The Stars did show some of the expected inconsistencies in an early season game. They allowed 12 shots on goal in the second and simply looked sloppy at times. Jamie Benn found a way to score a goal early in the period, but the Blues tied it up two minutes later. That was the only scoring until the shootout.

Still, Miro Heiskanen was spectacular in almost 28 minutes of ice time, firing six shots on net. Johnston looked tremendous despite missing a good deal of camp. Both Benn and Tyler Seguin finished with four shots on goal and created some solid scoring chances.

That brought the team to yet another overtime, and there was some trepidation in the crowd after Dallas lost 14 games past regulation last season. However, the 3-on-3 session was a focus in camp, and it was clear that a new strategy of patience was used on Thursday.

“I thought our guys incorporated the things we talked about in camp,” DeBoer said. “We got some good looks, we drew a penalty, we kept possession. I thought we at least tried to do some of the things we were talking about.”

That led to the shootout, and it looks like the Stars have some serious talent there. Jason Robertson scored on the first attempt, as did Brayden Schenn for St. Louis. Duchene then followed with a beautiful goal, and that turned into the difference maker in the game.

“With his history in shootouts, he’s unbelievable,” DeBoer said of the fact Duchene was 5-for-7 last season. “But you also have to want to be out there, and that was a big-time goal. Binnington was dialed in tonight, and it was really important that Robo and Duchene scored there for us against a goalie who looked like he wasn’t going to let anything in all night.”

It was a nice welcome for Duchene.

“This team is good enough that if we stick to our process and play the way we’re capable of playing, we’re going to get wins,” he said. “I felt like we kept doing it and we got the two points at the end of the day.”

Still, it means a lot when you actually go out and do just that.

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 @MikeHeika.