The Dallas Stars (20-13-0) head into the Christmas break with a hard-fought road win after beating the Utah Hockey Club (16-12-6) 3-2 at the Delta Center on Monday night. All three lines contributed to the scoring and Casey DeSmith made 23 saves, including many early on, to keep the Stars afloat.
The Stars had lost their previous two games, while Utah was enjoying an eight-game point streak (6-0-2). After a close first period, the Stars dominated in the second, opening up a 3-1 lead, and holding on for the one-goal victory. It wasn’t pretty, and familiar negative trends popped their ugly heads, but the Stars found a way. Here are three takeaways from the night that was.
Casey DeSmith Proving to Be Trustworthy
The Dallas Stars have had an envious goaltending situation for quite a while now. Jake Oettinger is one of the best netminders in the NHL, rank him how you like, and Scott Wedgewood held down the backup position for two-plus years after being picked up midway through the 2021-22 season. When you have a true number-one goalie like they do in Oettinger, you don’t want to be nervous or doubting when he needs a rest. You need a steady goalie who will come in and do his job, and that’s exactly what they found in Casey DeSmith.
Through eight starts and two relief appearances, DeSmith is 4-4-0, with a .910 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.41 goals-against average (GAA). His only bad start came in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Monday night’s start was his first in three weeks due to an illness, and the fact that his crease-mate is extremely good. His most recent start happened to be against Utah, a 2-1 win.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Utah’s 3-2 Loss to Stars
On Monday, DeSmith looked calm, poised, and in control. He made some key saves in the first and second periods to keep Dallas in the game, giving his teammates a chance to find their legs and get the win. Oettinger has played a lot of hockey this season, and will be playing much more as he goes with Team USA to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Games like this give Dallas confidence when DeSmith is between the pipes.
Contribution From Top to Bottom
Scoring, specifically depth scoring, has been an issue in Dallas all season. When Tyler Seguin was in the lineup, their production was extremely top-heavy, and since he’s been out, it’s dried up altogether. The Stars have scored more than three goals just once in their last 11 games, and more than two in five of those 11. We can tackle that issue another day, because on Monday everybody chipped in, and boy, did they need that.
Colin Blackwell opened the scoring at 11:02 of the first, on a 2-on-1, beating Vejmelka on his blocker side. He drew two penalties on the night as well, and received a well-deserved promotion in the second, starting the period on the second line with Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene.
Roope Hintz gave the Stars the 2-1 lead at 12:39 of the second period, scoring off a great pass from Mavrik Bourque. Bourque has enjoyed first-line minutes for the last few games now, and is starting to find his rhythm with his new linemates.
Captain Jamie Benn scored the eventual game-winner at the 17:50 mark of the second, off of a beautiful pass from Wyatt Johnston, as Johnston came around the back of the net, finding Benn in front. Johnston was “demoted” to the third line as a result of Blackwell moving up to the second line. Johnston has been great lately, and this was hardly a demotion. But with the Stars struggling to find offense, the adjustment from head coach Pete DeBoer worked.
Power Play Still a Problem
There’s no need to dwell too much on this point, since it’s been an issue all season long, but the power play still has a lot of figuring out to do. The Stars were 0-for-3 on Monday, and are now 26th in the league, sitting at 15.9% for the season. The PP looks unorganized and disjointed. With the talent this team has, this needs to be much, much better. Last season, their power play was at 24.2%, good for sixth-best in the NHL. Yes, there are players missing from last season’s team. That still doesn’t account for the team dropping 20 spots in PP rankings.
With a win last night, the Stars jumped back into playoffs after being out of it for the past few days. The Avalanche are back, and the Wild and Jets are better than people predicted. In order for the Stars to keep up with the Joneses, their work with the man-advantage needs to improve.
Final Thought
On Monday morning, the Stars woke up outside of a playoff spot and tied with Utah in the standings. With a hearty performance in the evening, the Stars get to step away for the holiday winners, and back in a playoff spot. There’s no better way for an NHL team to celebrate the season. DeSmith said as much.
“Nobody wants to go into Christmas on a losing note. — Everybody wants to go home and be with their families and just feel good about hockey for a couple days, but get away from it as well.”
The Stars have a wide variety of things to work on before they can be considered true Stanley Cup contenders like they have been for the last few seasons. They’re back home on Friday to get back to work against the Minnesota Wild. Until then, it won’t be a white Christmas in Dallas, but thanks to the win, it will certainly be merry.