DALLAS — A lot of eyes rolled around the hockey world when Ken Hitchcock was brought back here by the Stars, and not without cause. It had shameless retread hire written all over it.
But the only man to coach this franchise to a Stanley Cup, thanks to Brett Hull’s skate in 1999, has taken a group that was far too loose for far too long under Lindy Ruff and led them back to contention through scoring and, of course, defense. They’re 32-19-4 and rank a balanced seventh in goals for, sixth in goals against.
Three keys to victory:
1. Capitalize on small fortune.
It isn’t exactly a big break getting to face the backup.
Kari Lehtonen originally had been scheduled to start the first of the Stars’ back-to-back games Thursday night in Chicago. Hitchcock had said as much earlier in the week. But after being fed some advanced analytics from his goaltending coach, Jeff Reese, Hitch switched up and stuck with his starter, Ben Bishop. It paid off splendidly, to put it mildly, with Bishop making 37 saves to beat the Blackhawks, 4-2.
Afterward, Bishop told reporters, “It’s a big win. We’re on a back-to-back, and we’ve got Pittsburgh back home waiting for us, so it’s important to get that first win, those two points. We have to put it behind us and get ready for Pittsburgh.”
So that leaves Lehtonen — for real this time — facing the Penguins. And he’ll do so with a 17-game, 14-start record of 9-5-1 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He’s also won his past four starts while conceding a total of five goals on 98 shots.
Like I said, no windfall.
But Bishop’s performed at a near-superhuman level of late, stopping 107 of 113 shots in his past three starts, and he’s been the horse here all winter. If he’s at the end of the bench, it’s a plus.
2. That 91 guy can hurt you.
The Stars are blessed with scoring depth, with six of their forwards having double-digits in goals. And Tyler Seguin, their leader with 28, trails two others on his own team — Alexander Radulov and Norris-level defenseman John Klingberg — in points.
“They’re a highly skilled team, a lot of high-end guys who can really score,” Jamie Oleksiak observed of the team that traded him earlier this season. “They’re a lot like us, actually.”
Still, Seguin’s the man. He’s got goals in each of his past four games, including two in Chicago, and he’s getting it done through quality and quantity, with his 220 shots on goal ranking third in the NHL behind Brent Burns and Alexander Ovechkin. And just for kicks, he’s killing it in the circles, winning 54.9 percent of his faceoffs.
It’s folly to suggest paying special attention to Seguin, even as a power-play trigger man. Focus too much on him, and Jamie Benn‘s wicked wrister will do the damage. But his number matters.
3. Seize the rest edge.
By now, everyone, notably the Penguins themselves, are sick of discussing the back-to-back effect. Well, this time the visitors should be the beneficiary, having last played Tuesday night in Pittsburgh while the Stars had to grind it out with a divisional rival on the road Thursday.
That edge only matters if it’s used, though.
Mike Sullivan lost two forwards, Carter Rowney and Tom Kuhnhackl, to injury Tuesday, then opted to bench another, Dominik Simon, for the third period and roll three lines. That ended well, given the 5-4 victory over Vegas, but it’s not a sustainable formula. He’ll need to roll four, and yeah, that includes Simon, Zach Aston-Reese and newly-recalled Teddy Blueger, who’s set to to make his NHL debut.
Hitchcock, by the way, made it known in Chicago that all three of his healthy scratches there — centers Jason Dickinson and Gemel Smith, and defenseman Dillon Heatherington — will suit up tonight. That’s being done for no reason other than to counter what Sullivan should do.
Here’s today’s live file.
