Heika’s Take: Stars gaining “swagger” as they roll to sixth straight win over Flyers

Pete DeBoer was talking about Mavrik Bourque on Thursday morning, but he could have been discussing several Stars players on the subject of consistency.

Bourque had one of his best games of the season on Tuesday in New York, but DeBoer reminded reporters, “Mavrik’s last game was a response to one of his poorer games before, so you want to get out of that, having to respond every other night. Hopefully, you only have to respond every five or six games or seven/eight games. That’s how you become an integral regular in the NHL.”

On Thursday, Bourque followed up a good game with another good game, scoring his third goal of the season and helping lead Dallas in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center.

“I’ve played some good games this year, but I knew I had to show that I could play good games back-to-back,” said the rookie forward. “I felt good and I’m trying to build on the last two days.”

Bourque wasn’t alone. Matt Dumba was a healthy scratch in New York, but came back and added just his second assist of the season on Thursday. Casey DeSmith has now put together four consecutive strong wins in goal after a tough outing in Chicago back in late November. And both Logan Stankoven and Sam Steel continue to help Dallas get scoring throughout the lineup as members of Bourque’s line.

“I thought that was maybe the two best back-to-back games they played this year,” DeBoer said of the third line. “Hopefully, they’re getting some traction. They’re young guys, sometimes it takes a while for the confidence to grow, but it’s nice to see.”

Bourque was the MVP of the AHL last season and Stankoven had the lead on that award before he was called up for the final 24 games of the NHL season. Both have been prolific scorers in their junior and minor league careers. That’s why there is some frustration in the fact they have only combined for seven goals through 40 games this season. But Bourque’s goal against the Flyers was a great sign for several reasons.

Dumba started the play by skating the puck out of his own end and gaining numbers on Philadelphia. That’s been a chief strategy for DeBoer’s teams in the past three seasons, but Dumba just joined the Stars as a free agent in the summer and is still adjusting to new systems. He has battled injuries and healthy scratches, and he’s moving forward one step at a time.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about,” Dumba said. “I just tried to make a play with it, and got a couple of good bounces.”

That’s also one of DeBoer’s philosophies: Do the right thing over and over again, and good things will happen. Bourque went to the net on that play and was rewarded. Later that period, Roope Hintz went to the net and Evgenii Dadonov found him for a 2-0 lead. Dallas wasn’t dominating the shot clock as they have done in previous games, but they were making smart plays and being patient.

The Stars had an extended stretch of time in the Flyers’ end of the ice to start the second period, and then Nils Lundkvist (who also needs to pile good performances on top of good performances) made a great breakout pass to Jamie Benn, and the captain found Wyatt Johnston in transition. Johnston made a perfect shot to the upper corner and it was 3-0 Stars.

The Flyers got one back early in the third, and Dallas had to tighten up, but the lads in Victory Green did just that and added a Miro Heiskanen empty-netter for the 4-1 final.

While Dallas was struggling to get “that” play at “that” time earlier in the year, they are clicking right now. That makes all the difference in the world when they have to find a way to win a game in the third period.

“We’ve been in a lot of games that have been close in the third period and we’ve shown good maturity in our game,” DeBoer said.

And that goes for the young players, too, which is a huge deal. Bourque said he is gaining confidence in his first year, and that makes everything easier.

“Getting the body more involved,” he said when asked what has been key. “The last two games, I felt more engaged. Every battle matters here. The more battles you win, the more pucks you’re going to get. That’s what I’m trying to do. The more battles you win, the more puck touches you get, and the more puck touches you get, you have more chances to make plays.”

It really is a process, and not just for the kids. Hintz got his 19th goal of the season and is on pace for close to 40 this year. DeSmith moves to 6-4-0 and has won four straight starts while posting a 1.40 GAA and .950 save percentage. Dumba and Lundkvist are pocketing points, while Johnston and Jason Robertson are riding scoring surges.

Dallas has won six in a row and is 7-0-1 in its past eight contests. It sits 26-13-1 in the standings, good for fourth in the West with a .663 points percentage.

“When you win six games in a row, it’s indicative that you are playing well night in and night out,” DeSmith said. “It was a little bit frustrating because we felt we were doing a lot of good things and we just couldn’t get those wins. Now, we’re starting to get a little swagger and we’re stringing them together.”

And that’s the plan both individually and as a group.

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 X @MikeHeika.