'We all work together here': Undefeated Stars earning their wins, respect

DALLAS --Despite a trip to the Stanley Cup Final last season, the Stars were not seen as a media darling to be back in the mix this year.
Too many injuries to players like Tyler Seguin (hip) and Ben Bishop (knee).
Too many question marks with unproven faces stepping into too many holes.
Too little realexperience on the team resume.

MORE COVERAGE: [Watch all highlights from Stars' victory over Red Wings | Stars debut new 'Blackout' alternate jerseys]
But after a 4-0-0 start in which the Stars outscored the opposition 19-6 and looked very good doing it, maybe the view of Dallas is changing. Yes, both Nashville and Detroit are off to slow starts, but the Stars were the better team in all four games, despite some hardships along the way.
When the lads in Victory Green dispatched the Red Wings 7-3 on Thursday, they did so missing not only Seguin and Bishop, but also Jamie Benn (lower body), Roope Hintz (lower body), Blake Comeau (COVID protocol) and Joel Kiviranta (lower body). Oh yeah, and rookie goalie Jake Oettinger was making his NHL debut.
But that's sort of becoming expected for this team.

"We're very happy with (the 4-0-0 start) considering what we went through in training camp and the number of injuries we have to key players," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "You give the credit to the guys that stepped and filled in the void of the injured players. Every one of them has done a wonderful job. Every man we've asked to step in and do a job has done that for us.
"We couldn't have had the homestand we had with the injuries we had without everyone stepping up and doing their job."
Oettinger was solid in facing 23 shots. As much as it would be easy to say his teammates were protecting him, that's kind of just what the Stars have been doing in every game. Dallas is surrendering 23.8 shots on goal against per game -- third best in the NHL. It is killing penalties at a rate of 94.7 percent, second best in the league. It is playing good defense, getting sticks in the passing lanes, keeping the front of the net tidy.
Oettinger has been with the team throughout the playoff bubble in Edmonton, so getting to record his first NHL win with this group was a definite feather in the cap.

"It's everything to me," he said. "I've been around this group for a long time and it's such a good group of guys. To be able to get the opportunity to help out and to keep the good start to our season going, I just want to show up every day and do everything I can to contribute when my number is called."
On the other side of the ice, they also just find a way to do the right thing.

On their first goal, Tanner Kero took a pass from Miro Hesikanen along the right wing, hesitated for a moment and found a wide-open Joe Pavelski for a one-timer. It was whiteboard type stuff, but it was executed by a 28-year-old who last played in the NHL with Chicago in 2017 before joining the Stars.

The second goal was a hard-fought rebound scored by Andrew Cogliano. It was the 400th point of his career, and fantastic reward for doing so much dirty work for this team over the past three seasons.

The third goal was a beauty by Denis Gurianov in which veteran AHLer Justin Dowling made a smart play to avoid contact with the goaltender.

The fourth was a shot from the point by Jamie Oleksiak through an Alexander Radulov screen.

The fifth was the first NHL goal for Ty Dellandrea, a first-round pick for the Stars in 2018. It came off an incredible pass from fellow first-round pick Miro Heiskanen and helped seal the win for fellow first-round pick Oettinger. Yes, the Stars have talent. They had 10 first-round picks in the lineup Thursday, including seven home-grown selections. They have built a good team.
But the sum is greater than just the parts. The Stars are playing a team game that is looking like high cotton for today's NHL. When Oettinger let a few goals go in in the third period, and fans started to get a little worried, Heiskanen delivered that pass to Dellandrea.
"They made it 4-3 and we needed someone to step up and make a big play and Miro certainly did that," Bowness said. "It's an amazing thing about Miro. When the game is on the line, he wants to be out there and he just delivers. We needed that goal. What I love about the kid is that when the game is on the line or things aren't going well, he wants the ball."

A few minutes later, Dowling made a smart play to score an empty-net goal from center ice. Then, John Klingberg went coast-to-coast to tally the seventh goal. Klingberg is a fifth-round pick, but he's playing like a first-round pick.
That's just the way it is, as Bowness likes to say. If you work hard, good things can happen -- whether you're a first-round pick or a guy who plays a lot in the minors.
"In the bubble, we spent a lot of time with the guys that weren't with us every day and weren't playing every day. You know at some point they're going to play and they're part of our family here," Bowness said. "We work closely with our players. We had great leadership from the veterans on this hockey club. They stepped up and made the young guys feel part of it. We all work together here, that's what it is."
And four games into this very odd season, it looks like the Stars might simply be who they are -- a pretty good hockey team.

Up next

at Carolina, 6 p.m. CT Saturday
PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.
TV:FOX Sports Southwest PLUS
Radio:The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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.