Heika's Take: Everything is starting to come together for the Stars

DALLAS -- When Roope Hintz was in a scoring slump earlier in the season, he said he always had confidence that he would come out of it.
On Tuesday, he proved just how confident he's been.

Hintz tallied the first hat trick of his career with three goals in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes before an appreciative crowd at American Airlines Center.
With the victory, the Stars took down the team with the best winning percentage in hockey and added to a mantle that already had victories over St. Louis, Edmonton and Colorado. In busting out of a slump that was both physical and spiritual, the Stars have now won seven of their past eight games and pushed their record to 11-7-2 or just three points behind second place St. Louis with two games in hand.
That's quite the turnaround, and Hintz has been a big part of that. Well, Hintz and linemates Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson. In the past 10 games, Hintz had 10 goals and four assists. In the past 13 games, Pavelski has six goals and nine assists. And in the past 13 games, Robertson has five goals and 10 assists. They clearly dominated Tuesday having a hand in each goal.
"Right now, that line is just reading off of each other so well," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "There's chemistry that you can define and there's chemistry that you see, and what you see there is great chemistry."

That line's helped pace the Stars in recent games by scoring in the first two minutes. Hintz did it again on Tuesday with a heady play at the net just 1:13 in. That was a great statement to the Hurricanes, who played from behind all night, and to a Stars team that continues to ride some positive waves.
"They play hard, they come hard, they go on the forecheck hard, but I think we managed it really well today, Hintz said. "Of course, I have to say we had a great goalie today. [Braden Holtby] was unreal today, so that helps a lot."
Holtby was fantastic, finishing with 39 saves, including 16 in a frantic third period. It was his 500th career start, and it also was a confidence start from the coaching staff. Jake Oettinger has been playing solid to start the run, but Holtby looked good in a return from injury performance Saturday in Arizona, so he got a big start against a big opponent and was the other "story" in the game.
"He's such a competitive guy. Like, there is no way he'll ever quit on a shot. He won't quit on a shot in practice," Bowness said, describing Holtby's flurry of saves late in the game. "He tries everything to stop every shot in practice, and that's what you love about the guy and that's why he's had the tremendous career that he has."
And that sort of describes the team right now. Hintz had no goals in the first 10 games but kept saying he was confident. Bowness even predicted a hat trick for Hintz during the slump.

"When you're getting all those chances and you're a good player, it's going to go in," Bowness said. "It is, and it was just a matter of time. I know whatever his stats were after 10 games, but if he wasn't getting chances then you'll have a whole other conversation and a whole other set of worries, but when you see your best player getting chances like that you know it's going to go in. It was just a matter of time."
Robertson missed the first six games of the season with an injury and that contributed to the slow start. Since he's been back, the top line has improved. That allows the rest of the lines to fit together. And there's a reason the top line is so good.
"Well, Robo, he sees the ice and is very calm and patient. He's a great playmaker," Bowness said. "Roope knows how to get in the open with his speed, and Pavs knows how to just read off the other two and get in the right spot at the right time. Pavs is so good around the net, but he's spent his whole career working around the net, finding openings, finding pucks, and deflecting pucks, and knowing where the play is going to be."
Pavelski scored the 400th regular-season goal of his career recently and had his son on the bench after the game. That was a good vibe. Likewise, being able to witness Hintz's first hat trick was pretty neat.
"It's awesome," Pavelski said of the hat trick. "It's fun for the crowd, for the energy of the building. It's one of those nights you look forward to. They don't come a lot, so it was good to see Roops grab that one and go for it."

Bowness was honored for being on the bench in his 2,500th NHL game, the most combined for an assistant and head coach in league history. His family was in the building, and he received a big cheer from the crowd. It was sort of the perfect mix of what the team is trying to build.
"It's a lot of little things that are happening for us right now," Pavelski said. "Guys are committing to then and we're staying patient throughout the game."
Patience has been needed this year…for players…for coaches…for management, and it seems the patience is paying off now. Mix that with a little Hintz-like confidence, and the team might just be able to ride the wave a little longer.

Don't miss your chance to see the Stars continue their homestand on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.