Not long ago, the Dallas Stars heavily relied on their top line for scoring. Two seasons ago, despite having three players with 70 points each, they struggled in the playoffs, unable to advance past the first round. They were also the only playoff team to allow more goals than they scored in the regular season.
Last year, while Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson, and Roope Hintz continued to shine, the team got more offensive support, reaching the Western Conference Final. Now, their scoring is even stronger and more balanced.
As the Central Division champions, the Stars boast a franchise-record eight players with 20 or more goals, and another player with over 50 points. “Having depth is crucial,” Pavelski, who’s 39 years old, emphasized.
Matt Duchene, who joined the team this season, noted, “Our stats are all pretty similar, which is neat.” He highlighted the team’s mentality of being ready to step up whenever needed.
This improvement in balanced scoring aligns with Pete DeBoer’s coaching tenure, which began two seasons ago after Rick Bowness departed. Under DeBoer’s guidance, the Stars’ goal-scoring has surged, reaching 296 goals this season, the highest since the team moved to Dallas in 1993.
“The two times I’ve been to the finals and lost, it was because the depth of the other team was better than ours,” said DeBoer, who coached in the final with New Jersey in 2012 and San Jose in 2016.
“There’s not many teams you can put our lineup up against up front where that’s going to be the case. So that’s a great option to have, and that’s the strength of this team. We’ve got to make sure we utilize that.”
Robertson leads in scoring with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) and remains on the top line with Pavelski (67 points, 27 goals) and Hintz (65 points, 30 goals).
Wyatt Johnston, a 20-year-old completing his second full season, has a team-high 32 goals alongside 33 assists.
With each line contributing, the Stars have managed ice time while preparing for what they hope is a longer postseason run than last year when they lost at home to eventual Cup champion Las Vegas in Game 6 of the West final. They wrap up this regular season at home on Wednesday night.
“The nice thing is you’re not physically exhausted at all at this time of year because our minutes are lower than a lot of other teams,” said Duchene, who has 64 points (25 goals) while playing under 17 minutes a game, well below his career average.
“If you’re able to still produce and contribute offensively as a forward group, that doesn’t matter how much you’re playing. We’re fresh and ready to go.”
The 24-year-old Robertson is getting the most ice time among Dallas forwards, averaging nearly 18 1/2 minutes a game.
Jamie Benn, the 34-year-old captain, still has 60 points (21 goals) in just over 15 minutes a game, his lowest average ice time since his rookie season 14 years ago. He primarily plays on a third line with Johnston and 21-year-old Logan Stankoven.
Six-time All-Star Tyler Seguin (25 goals) and Mason Marchment (21 goals), who usually play with Duchene on the second line, are the other 20-goal scorers.
Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has nine goals and 45 assists. Seguin is the only player on the roster with a Stanley Cup title, although that came during his rookie season with Boston in 2010-11.
“Everyone here has sacrificed. We talked about that sacrifice from day one at camp. To play on a contender, you’re going to have to check your ego at the door and make some sacrifices personally,” DeBoer said.
“We’ve had zero issues with that. Every guy’s lined up to take their turn to sacrifice for the greater good. And that’s why we’ve got the record we’ve got.”
