Scoring vs. defense: Finding 'that balance' critical to another Stars run

The Stars are one of the more Jekyll and Hyde franchises in the NHL when it comes to scoring.

Dallas led the NHL in goals per game in 2015-16 with 3.23 under Lindy Ruff. However, an injury-plagued 2016-17 season led to Ruff being let go and Ken Hitchcock coming on. While Hitchcock repaired some of the team's sloppy defensive tendencies in his one season at the helm, he watched scoring nestle in at 18th (2.82). Jim Montgomery took over in 2018-19, and the Stars finished 28th in offense at 2.55 goals per game, but soared to second in goals against average at 2.44 goals per game.
That defensive prowess repeated itself in the regular season last year as the Stars were second in goals against average at 2.52, but finished 26th in scoring at 2.56.
All of that is important, because Rick Bowness (who took over in the middle of last season) and his coaching staff decided before the playoffs that they wanted to do something to increase scoring chances. The team worked throughout training camp to activate defensemen and get them more involved in the offensive game, and it worked. Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg led the Stars in playoff scoring, and Dallas made it to the Stanley Cup Final while averaging 2.85 goals per game.

It was an unmitigated success.
Now, the flip side to that coin is the fact the Stars' goals against average went up .52 goals per game to 3.04 -- and that seems a good spot to pick up the conversation of offense versus defense as we get ready for the 2020-21 season opener on Friday.
"If you want to win in this league, you have to play good team defense," Bowness said. "We've talked a lot about we have to find that balance between scoring, which will help us win, and making sure we can still win those 1-0, 2-1 games when you need to do that. If you can play both ways, you're going to be successful in this league."
That is the goal of the Stars this season. They want to take the lessons learned in the playoffs and continue to apply them.

Heiskanen is 21 and starting his third season in the NHL. Many believe he will be among the NHL leaders in defensive scoring. John Klingberg is seventh among NHL defensemen in scoring at 0.68 points per game since he started in 2014, so he also will take advantage of more scoring chances. They are legitimate, skilled defensemen who can drive play from the blueline.
Bowness said he also believes players like Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak, Andrej Sekera and Mark Pysyk can be a part of that plan.
"We didn't win our last game, so we have to get better," Bowness said of the mantra throughout training camp. "To get better, we have to keep activating our (defensemen), because that's part of our offense. We have good defensemen back there offensively in Klinger and Miro; and Esa and Rig can certainly do more, so can (Sekera). That will still be a big part of our game plan, but we've got to tighten up a little bit as well."
That will also be huge with No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop
out until late March
following offseason knee surgery. Anton Khudobin carried the team in the playoffs, but he can't start every game in a 56-game season that will be played at a pace of a game every two days. That means rookie Jake Oettinger has to step up, and that the team defense has to be better.

Bowness simply wants a strong two-way balance that includes both defensemen and forwards, and he believes his team can do that after learning a lot in the playoffs. Three of the Stars' opponents were in the top 13 in scoring during the regular season with Tampa Bay first (3.47), Colorado fourth (3.37), and Vegas 13th (3.15), which is one reason 3.04 goals against doesn't look so bad.
"In those playoffs, look at those teams we played, keep that in mind," Bowness said. "Colorado is a great hockey club, one of the highest scoring teams. Calgary can score, certainly Vegas can score and Tampa can score. I know what the numbers look like from the playoffs, but we also better be very honest in evaluating the opposition. They're pretty good teams."
And the Stars found a way to be one goal better than those teams on a lot of occasions, which is what Bowness likes to stress. Be good in any style of game that's on the ice.
"If you think you're just going to score goals and win, that's not going to carry you very far," Bowness said. "And if you think you're going to strictly play defense and not score any goals, that's not going to carry you far."

Regular season opener: Stars vs. Predators

Friday, 7:30 p.m. CT
Where:American Airlines Center
TV:FOX Sports Southwest PLUS, ESPN+
Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.