The pros and cons of Dallas' offensive surge

The Stars are reaching a new milestone almost every game, but they also know that offensive production will only take them so far this season.
Miro Heiskanen set a franchise record for point streaks by a defenseman (12 games) on Thursday. Jason Robertson hit 50 assists and is closing on the best offensive season since the team moved to Dallas in 1993. And Jamie Benn is having his best year since 2017-18. It's one of the reasons the team has been among the hottest in the NHL in March, but it's also part of the reason the team has struggled in goals against at 3.50 for the past 12 games.
Dallas was sloppy in the first two periods on Thursday in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh, and then played better hockey in the third when they stopped cheating and trying to be too creative.

"We started to play more direct, we started to play the way you need to play this time of year and to win in the playoffs," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "We're not built for all of that cute stuff we were trying in the first 40 minutes."
Robertson has been fantastic and now has 41 goals and 50 assists for 91 points. The best season in Dallas Stars history is 93 points (50 goals, 43 assists) from Mike Modano in 1993-94. Robertson has 10 games to beat that record.
"He's a student of the game," DeBoer said. "How hard he works at the game. He's looking at analytics on his own all the time. He's staying after practice, after pregame skate, working on his own game. It's always the offensive part of the game. I'd like him to spend a little bit more time on the other end, from a coaching perspective, but you know, he's better defensively than I give him credit, a lot of people give him credit, too."
That said, the coach added that his top scorer could be better at defensive play and maintaining details. Robertson was called out for overstaying his shift in an overtime loss to Seattle on Tuesday, and despite having two assists on Thursday, still drew some constructive criticism from his coach.
"We've talked endlessly and given Robo all kinds of accolades all year. If you want to be honest about his game, I think he can play better than he did tonight or last game. That's my honest assessment. I love the guy and I'm the first one to stand up here and tell you guys how great he is, but he's got to be better than he was the last two games."
Heiskanen has been the leader of the defense all year, and his career has been a study on building from a defensive base. His career best in scoring came with 36 points in 70 games last season. He has 62 in 69 games this season.
Dallas let John Klingberg walk away in free agency over the summer, which allowed Heiskanen more responsibility on defense. He leads the team with 25:38 in time on ice. He leads the next closest Stars player by five minutes.
"He's just getting rewarded," said teammate Tyler Seguin. "I think he's being a little more selfish with the puck this year. He's got that confidence. He's been elite for a few years, and we've been hiding him in Dallas. But now he's getting rewarded. He's on the first power play and he's stocking up on points. He's also got guys around him who are finishing, so that's great."
Dallas has gone from 21st on scoring at 2.84 goals per game to eighth at 3.43, which allows space for all the personal achievements. But as DeBoer said, they need to play a complete game to win in the playoffs.
Jake Oettinger saved the day on Thursday and DeBoer said he would like the whole team to be a big part of the defensive effort.
"I wish our group would have helped [Jake] a little more tonight and not left him with as many big saves as he had to make, but he was our best player," DeBoer said. "We found a way to win against a really good team that's as desperate as they come. We'll take the two points and hopefully get our team game a little bit better."
Key Numbers
.707
Dallas has the most success when it has one day between games. The Stars have a points percentage of .375 with no days, .707 with one day, .500 with two days and .667 with three days.
Plus-34
Joe Pavelski ranks fifth in the NHL in plus-minus at plus-34.
4.56
Dallas ranks second in scoring for the month of March at 4.56 goals per game over the past 12 games.
He said it
"I felt okay. Mentally, I didn't feel great, missing time, and that first game back is tough. But it's good to see a win."
- Seguin on returning to play after missing six games with a leg laceration.
Expected Lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Faksa-Domi-Seguin
Kiviranta-Glendening-Dellandrea
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Hakanpää
Suter-Lundkvist
Oettinger
Murray
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.