Top Line Powers Stars into the Holiday Break
Whether or not the Dallas Stars are destined to return to the Western Conference playoffs this season remains to be seen. The club plays in by far the tougher of the two NHL Conferences and the wave of injuries on the blueline are a major concern for a team for which defensive depth and blueline personnel mix was a question mark even before the season. Dallas enters the Christmas break three points behind the Phoenix Coyotes for the eighth and final playoff position spot in the West.
The Stars, however, are a team that battles for all its worth. Doggedness has been a pretty consistent trait of the team in recent years, even as player personnel, coaches, the general manager and the ownership have changed and the team narrowly missed out on the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. One difference now with the Stars -- and something that bodes well for the future -- is that general manager Jim Nill has started to assemble an impressive corps of young players.
That is especially true of the trade addition of top line center Tyler Seguin and the drafting of top-line right wing Valeri Nichushkin. Along with team captain Jamie Benn, the Stars suddenly have one of the most formidable lines in the league. The trio is capable of taking over any given game. The scariest part is that the line is just going to get better in the years to come. At age 24, Benn is the "elder statesman" of the line.
Last night in Los Angeles, the top line in general and Benn in particular was the driving force in the Stars' 5-2 win over the Kings. Benn notched a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with an additional assist thrown in for good measure. Seguin had a goal and an assist. Nichushkin notched a second-period power play goal on a one-timer set up nicely by Seguin.
Kari Lehtonen earned the victory in net with a 30-save performance, including 19 saves over the final two periods. Dallas had some rough patches after taking an early 2-1 lead, but Lehtonen came up big and bent without breaking after the teams skated to the first intermission deadlocked at 2-2.
Justin Williams (rebound goal on the doorstep) and Jarrett Stoll (right circle slapshot off a Williams pass during a delayed penalty on Dallas) scored for LA in the opening stanza. That is all the team would muster for the night.
LA had come into the game riding a three-game winning streak and had won nine of its previous 10 games. Goalie Martin Jones had been lights out in net before the Stars top line and Cody Eakin (8th goal of the season) solved him four times on 23 shots last night. Shawn Horcoff added an empty net goal for the final 5-2 margin of victory.
The Stars actually scored on each of their first two shots of the game.
At 3:46 of the first period, Benn retrieved an errant Maxime Fortunas shot and then fed an open Seguin through a narrow passing lane. Seguin, who got himself between the circles, quickly fired off a shot that beat Jones. At 6:10, Benn notched an unassisted goal on a backhanded shot from the right circle that got through the five-hole.
Nichushkin put the Stars ahead to stay with a power play goal at 5:07 of the third period. Seguin made it possible by feathering a pass from the left side to Nichushkin in the right circle. Nichushkin took care of the rest, ripping a laser beam past Jones.
With 4:48 left in the third period, the Stars got some insurance. Robyn Regehr, who had fought Benn late in the middle frame, had a puck go off his skate. Ryan Garbutt hurriedly collected the turnover and then passed to an oncoming Eakin, who banged home a shot from the medium slot.
Horcoff punctuated the win with an unassisted empty netter with 1:09 left in the game. On the play, Horcoff outraced Drew Doughty for a puck that eluded the LA defenseman at the Dallas blueline, and was tripped up before he could claim the disc and stash it in the vacated cage. The officials awarded Horcoff with a goal.
With the victory, the Stars improved their season record to 18-12-6. They have the next three nights off. The schedule will resume on Friday when the Stars host the Nashville Predators to start a five-game homestand. Dallas is currently 7-4-4 at home and 11-8-2 on the road.
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