Klingberg having fun - and proving why he's 'elite defenseman' for Stars

Stars (5-2-2, 12 points) vs. Blackhawks (5-4-4, 14 points)

DALLAS --John Klingberg is having a good year, so it followed that he was having a good morning on Tuesday.
Klingberg put out a few zingers on his Zoom call, and generally enjoyed himself, as he prepared for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. CT; FS-SW; KTCK-FM)
Asked why his giveaway totals had declined this season, Klingberg joked: "I don't know, probably the guys up in the stat box finally woke up."
Asked about his good friend and former teammate Mattias Janmark playing for the Blackhawks, Klingberg said he's impressed, but added this jab: "The only thing I see with Janny is that he can't really shoot the puck, so that's probably something he wants to work on."

You can do that when you have 10 points in nine games to start the season and are a driving force in the Stars having the second most successful (36.8 percent) power play in the NHL.
"John was one of the main reasons I came here," Stars coach Rick Bowness said earlier in the season. "I heard great things about him. I coached against him a little bit because when I was in Tampa we always saw them twice a year. But he just has elite skills. Right now he's playing fantastic hockey, he's moving the puck very well, he's doing everything you want your elite defenseman to do."
Klingberg said he's feeling relaxed right now, and that's one of the reasons for his improved play. Bowness and the coaching staff pushed for more aggressive offensive play from the defensemen before they entered the playoff bubble in Edmonton last season. Klingberg took advantage and helped push the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final.
"I've felt good for a while," Klingberg said. "I feel like the team and myself took a huge step forward in the bubble, and I felt great in camp and have felt really good so far for the start of the season. As a professional hockey player, I think if you ask any guy, when you're not thinking too much and you play on your instincts and play within the system, that's when it's easiest and that's when you play the best. You don't need to make it too hard out there, just go out and play."

Oettinger to make second straight start

Anton Khudobin was late for practice Saturday and as a result had to miss Sunday's game against Chicago.
He was back at practice on Monday and Bowness said that the discipline was "yesterday's news." However, rookie Jake Oettinger will get a second start in a row Tuesday against the Blackhawks and Khudobin will serve as the backup goalie.

"He played very well last game and as we've said since training camp on, he's going to play," Bowness said. "He's coming off of a really strong game, so he'll get the start tonight."
Oettinger stopped 33 of 35 shots and
lost 2-1 in overtime
. He is 2-0-1 on the season with a 2.27 goals against average and .915 save percentage.
Khudobin is 0-2-1 in his past three starts while allowing 11 goals on 81 shots against.

"It was a tough decision," Bowness said when asked about letting Khudobin sit and now potentially having a week between starts. "This gives Anton a couple of days of practice with (goalie coach) Jeff (Reese) to get his game back. And Jake's coming off a strong game, and you know as a young player you want to get right back in there.
"Anton is our No. 1, there's no issue there, and he's going to play this week. But when Jake is coming off of game like and he's your young goalie, it was important for us to get him right back in there."

#

Kiviranta a game-time decision, Radulov out

Joel Kiviranta is a game-time decision.
The 25-year-old forward was a playoff hero last season and had a goal and assist in his first game this season, but suffered a lower-body injury in that game and hasn't played since. He skated Monday and could jump back in.
Kiviranta could play on a line with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, and that would allow Jason Dickinson to possibly slide down to the center spot on the fourth line.
Andrej Sekera is skating after missing a week in COVID protocol, but he is not ready to return yet.
Alexander Radulov is out with a lower body injury.

By the numbers

694

Stars captain Jamie Benn has 694 points in his career. He will become the fourth player in franchise history to pass the 700-point milestone.

9

That's the amount of points (four goals, five assists) for Chicago's Alex DeBrincat in his past five games. He had two goals Sunday in a 2-1 OT win against the Stars.

5

Stars forward Joe Pavelski is tied for first in the NHL with five power-play goals on the season and is tied for second in power-play points at nine.

He said it

"We're out here trying to prove people wrong. The culture of our team and the work ethic that we put in, we want to try and outwork teams and that goes a long way in this league. It's hard to have a lot of success without hard work. I think it starts from there with our team every day in practice and leading up to the season and now it's paying off. It's a great confidence builder for us." -- Chicago goalie Malcolm Subban
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, and listen to his podcast.