Stars incorporate valuable new traits in shootout win to open preseason

Glen Gulutzan set out a bevy of new traits he wanted to see in the Stars this season, and while it was just the first preseason game on Saturday in Dallas, the new head coach was able to check a lot of things off his list.

More puck possession? Dallas outshot the Blues 34-15 and had a 65-36 advantage in shot attempts. What’s more, the Stars enjoyed a 31-14 edge in the faceoff circle.

More physicality? St. Louis won the battle of hits 28-26, but Dallas was much closer than in recent seasons.

More efficient drives to the net? Dallas doubled up the Blues in scoring chances.

All that said, the Stars still had to go to a shootout to take a 2-1 win at American Airlines Center, and that supports another lesson from Gulutzan: Stick with it. Have patience and resilience, because it is a long haul.

“I liked the way our guys competed,” Gulutzan said. “They were heavy on pucks. We put some emphasis on our line rush against and how hard we’re coming back. And we didn’t give up many odd man rushes, right?”

Dallas played a lineup filled with prospects and depth players, and the message was clear: Work hard, and you will be a part of this team. Lineup regulars Sam Steel and Mavrik Bourque led the forwards in time on ice, while familiar names such as Colin Blackwell, Oskar Bäck and Radek Faksa also were squarely in the middle of the action. Bourque scored the lone goal in regulation on a nice rebound play off a shot from Alexander Petrovic, while Steel scored the lone goal in the shootout.

“I thought we had a good possession game tonight,” Bourque said. “Just creating plays, creating offense. I just wanted to build my confidence.”

Bourque is one of the players who will have a chance to fill top spots created by the departure of Mason Marchment, Mikael Granlund and Evgenii Dadonov. The 23-year-old played 12:41 per game last season, and was a key player on the power play and in overtime Saturday. That is important as he tries to find a new fit under the new staff.

“It helps for sure,” Bourque said. “Just being involved and feeling like you’re contributing in any way, whether that’s special teams or any big faceoff or anything like that, you just feel like you’re contributing and you’re part of the team winning. That’s awesome.”

Gulutzan said it’s also important for the role players to see how they can contribute to the bigger picture. As players like Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene work themselves in, the line dynamics will change. But Gulutzan said Saturday was a good example on how to play "team hockey".

“If you look at our first goal, we kind of built it,” Gulutzan said. “I told them that it was a team-built goal, it was shift after shift after shift. We got them in the O-zone, then [Faksa] changed and we got new blood in and then [Bourque] got it. We built it, we stayed with it and we built it, and that’s important.

The new coach added that the lessons can help a great deal in a long season.

“I talked to the players about stacking good plays on good plays on good plays and then stacking good days on good days on good days, and I thought that was a good example,” Gulutzan said.

Justin Hryckowian, a prospect who was voted the top rookie in the AHL last season, got in a fight early to fire up the crowd, and Steel finished the game by scoring the only goal in the shootout. Those were two memorable moments. And yet, it is just one game. They play at home against Minnesota on Tuesday and then have three preseason road games before wrapping up at home against Colorado. The lineups will be scrambled at times, but lessons will be learned.

“As a coach, you pick apart things and there is some work we have to do in our D-zone, make some little adjustments,” Gulutzan said. “It’s going to take us some time to get really good, we have some work to do there.”

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.