Two Minutes For Rambling: What stands out for Stars after 10 games?

We are 10 games into the new NHL season and the start of the Jim Montgomery era. It is also my first 10 games covering this team up close and watching the season develop. There's a lot to observe and discuss, but there's also a lot unanswered.
The Dallas Stars are at the .500 mark, which is fitting given what the team has dealt with in the opening month. The Dallas Stars are at the .500 mark, which is fitting given what the team has dealt with in the opening month. They're dominant at home, but can't win on the road. They're looking to maintain consistency with secondary scoring, and the team has yet to play a game with their full lineup of players because of injuries.
Personally, I think this is too small of a sample size to know what kind of team this is or where it will finish when it's all said and done. But that doesn't mean there aren't some interesting storylines that are already developing.
So here are the five interesting things that have jumped out to me in the early portion of the 2018-19 campaign.

Alexander Radulov has a greater impact on the Stars than we thought

This team really struggles when Alexander Radulov is out of the lineup. He played all 82 games last season, so this is a first look at life without him. I'm not a hyper "fancy stats" guy. There is certainly a place for them in hockey, and they give relevant information when you dive deeper into possession numbers, high-danger chances, shot attempts in different situations, etc.
But the only stat I need is that Dallas is 2-2-0 without Radulov as opposed to 42-32-8 with him.
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His usual running partners Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin haven't scored in the last six games. Four of those have been without Radulov. In the last game against Detroit, the energy dropped after the opening period (except for Gemel Smith). How nice would it have been to have Radulov's constant energy to try and generate something in a game that was tied entering the third period?
Other players are worth more on the salary cap -- and it's rightfully deserved -- but life without Radulov is tough sledding for the Stars. Just ask Montgomery, who is not shy about expressing his desire for the winger to return to the ice.
Hopefully tonight in Montreal it happens.

I can't explain the road woes either

It's the main talking point right now given where this team is in its schedule. It's not just the elephant in the room. It's the elephant riding a black cat after some of the bounces that went against Dallas in their loss on Sunday to the Red Wings.
Considering 16 of the next 23 games are on the road, we will learn just how serious of an issue this is. Honestly, I think they will figure it out in some way. This feels like a matter of urgency. Considering the gauntlet of teams they're about to face on the remainder of this road trip, I think we will see the urgency level rise in some of these games.
I'll reserve my judgement for just how bad this situation is until after this trip ends.

Miro Heiskanen is really good at hockey

I never played in the NHL and after working in hockey for the last 11 years, the one thing I've learned the most is just how little I know about hockey. When I was 19 years old, I was thriving at Madden 2005 for Playstation. This kid is impacting an NHL franchise.
My partner Brent Severyn cannot stop raving about how good of a hockey player Heiskanen is now and how good he could be. Montgomery said in the preseason he wanted to bring him along slowly, but has played him more than 21 minutes a game to start. That's not "slowly". Those are top minutes.
So far in 10 games, I haven't seen anything really bad happen when Heiskanen is on the ice, and I've seen plenty of good. Sometimes, the eyeball test is enough for me.

Justin Dowling could be here longer than anticipated

This isn't a breaking story. I don't have a scoop or inside information. Call it a "hot take". He looked like he belonged on the top line with Benn and Seguin when Dallas faced the Anaheim Ducks. Montgomery said "he fit" after that Anaheim game and glowed about his performance throughout the preseason.
The numbers game is the numbers game for players on the bubble, and Dowling is 28 years old. Players like Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov are going to the ones fans look at because they are the draft picks, the prospects -- insert any other label you want.
But Justin Dowling knows who he is as a hockey player. You know what you're going to get out of him, what he does well and what he doesn't do well at the NHL level. Coaches like that.
The evaluation is complete. That's why he was the first call up over Gurianov. Montgomery likes him and he knows what he is getting. It's one less thing to worry about when he has a multitude of other items on his mind (see: road wins).

You're just going to have to be patient

The last thing a fan wants to hear is that they have to wait. We live in an instant gratification society and it's magnified in the world of sports. We would all love for the Stars to rip apart the league for the first two months and build a nice lead in the Central Division.
The NHL doesn't work like that. Not with this team.
This is 25 players all trying to learn a new brand of hockey and new personalities in their coaching staff. That's a heavy adjustment, and I'm not surprised this is a .500 hockey team after 10 games.
I don't think this team knows what it is yet under Jim Montgomery.
I like the flashes I've seen so far. I think it will work. But the earliest that we will know something is mid-December, in my opinion. Heck, it may even be January. Life in the Central Division is grueling for everyone, so I don't think Dallas will be drowning underwater. They will be in the hunt. What they'll need is that surge after everything comes together.
Agree? Disagree? We've got six more months to see this journey play out, and that's what a hockey season is: A journey. The ebbs and flows are constant for every team and Dallas is no different. Some of these answers will be easy and clear cut. Others? Not so much.
There are five observations after 10 games. After 10 more, everything could change and that's the beauty of an NHL season.
And if you're wondering, my hockey game of choice at 19 years old was NHL 94. The all-time classic.
Brien Reais a contributing columnist for DallasStars.com and the host of 'Stars Live' on FOX Sports Southwest. Follow him on Twitter @BrienRea.