Heika’s Take: Resilience and response shine through as Stars down Red Wings

The Stars like to nip negativity in the bud and do so relatively quickly.

Since coach Pete DeBoer took over in 2022 (210 games and counting), Dallas has not registered three consecutive regulation losses. That became a subject of discussion on Sunday, as the lads in Victory Green were coming off defeats at the hands of the Canadiens and the Avalanche, and they definitely didn’t want to hit three in a row.

But with a back-to-back game, travel from Colorado, and three significant forward injuries in the formula, there were plenty of variables to consider.

But that made a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at American Airlines Center all the more sweet. Dallas got two-point games from Matt Duchene and Jason Robertson, 33 saves from Jake Oettinger, and a big game from the fourth line of Matěj Blümel, Justin Hryckowian and Colin Blackwell, and that meant DeBoer left Game 46 in a pretty good mood.

“It’s important,” DeBoer said. “We talked before the game about stopping the bleeding of these streaks. We were a tired group tonight, running on some fumes, but we had a good formula to win. We got an early goal, a power play goal, and then I thought we really had good detail to our defensive game.”

The Stars are without Tyler Seguin (hip surgery), Mason Marchment (facial surgery) and Roope Hintz (upper body), so they have had to rely on some key call-ups from their AHL affiliate the Texas Stars. Blümel, Hryckowian, and Arttu Hyry have each made recent appearances in the lineup. On Sunday, the fourth line had a great opening shift as Hryckowian earned a shot on goal, and Blümel swooped in to bang home the rebound to give the Stars a 1-0 lead just 5:26 into the game.

It was the second goal in Blümel’s NHL career, and the first point for Hryckowian.

“It was a big goal from the fourth line,” DeBoer said. “They gave us some real quality minutes. I think that’s the most I’ve played them, but they allowed me to play them that way. They started quickly, they got a goal early in the game, and I thought they had good detail to their game defensively. I felt comfortable putting them out there.”

Blümel had a goal disallowed on an offside challenge on Saturday in Colorado, so getting this one for real was a huge deal.

“It feels great, obviously,” said Blümel, who has 18 goals among 32 points in the AHL. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for over two years. Finally, after last night, that one got called off, this one finally went in. I was nervous until the next puck drop, like calling a coach’s challenge, but luckily, they didn’t and I’m happy it went in.”

That fed energy into the building and seven minutes later rookie Mavrik Bourque drew a tripping penalty. Dallas, who has struggled at home on the power play, cashed in on a smart rebound read from Robertson, and the Stars had a 2-0 lead. Then, a minute after that, Bourque scored his fifth goal of the season off a nice pass from Ilya Lyubushkin and the Stars were in complete control a day after they were thrashing about in chaos during a 6-3 loss to the Avalanche.

To be fair, the team is now 10-3-1 in its past 14 games, so it wasn’t about to panic, but there is a method to the loss management program. Dallas ranks fifth in the league at 29-16-1 (.641) and fourth in goals against at 2.50.

“It’s all about response,” Oettinger said. “Everyone is going to have bad nights, no one is perfect, but if we lose two in a row, we’ve got to buckle down.”

Because the Stars were on the second night of a back-to-back and also playing for the eighth time in 13 days with travel between every game, they wanted to simplify and conserve energy. The final numbers had Detroit with a 34-25 advantage in shots on goal and a 70-44 edge in shot attempts. Dallas definitely “managed” the game after the 3-0 start, and that was actually a good thing for a team that struggled in Colorado.

“Coming off the Colorado game, we were just too loose,” DeBoer said. “We gave up way too much, and we can’t play that way. We’re not going to outscore teams with Roope and Marchment and Seguin out of the lineup, so we’ve got to play a tight, detailed game.”

Oettinger lost his shutout bid with eight minutes left in the game, but then Wyatt Johnston scored to make the final 4-1.

The veteran goalie said he has liked the response from the young call-ups.

“All the guys who have come in and stepped up…our record has been great since we lost some of our best players, so that’s just a testament to the guys who have stepped up,” Oettinger said. “When they get called up, it’s up to them to make their mark and make the coaches have a hard time taking them out. I’m happy for them, they’re all great kids, and we need them.”

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.