'There's no quit': Joe Pavelski explains what's working for the Stars

Stars (20-16-2, 42 points) vs. Flyers (13-20-8, 34 points)

Joe Pavelski knows a thing or two about winning, so the veteran forward is staying focused during a hectic time for the Stars.
"The results are important," Pavelski said of back-to-back road wins in which the Stars scored five times but allowed four. "There's definitely areas we can tighten up, consistency-wise, but there's no quit. Road wins have not come easy for us, so to find ways to win on the road has been important. But we realize we can't keep giving up what we're giving up, so certain parts of our game have to be tightened up."

Pavelski has been a key to good two-way play this year. He's the team leader in points with 43 (16 goals, 27 assists) in 38 games, is tied for the lead in plus-minus at plus-10 and is second on the team in SAT (shot differential at even strength) at plus-110. In his past 12 games, Pavelski has scored 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists).
"It's his ability to sniff out loose pucks, his ability to get in the open, and his anticipation of where the puck is going," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "He has good poise around the net. Goal-scorers know where to put the puck. You can put other guys in those situations and they're not going to have the natural instinct to put the puck on the goalie. Joe has that touch. But you seem everyday working at it, it's not a fluke. It's good for a game like tonight to get rewarded. He's got natural offensive instincts that you can't teach. It's fun to watch."

Pavelski will play a key role as the Stars are trying to continue to activate defensemen and also still cut down on the scoring chances and goals against. He said the role of the forward is key.
"The forwards have to be responsible with the puck and create those kinds of rushes," Pavelski said. "But you need that fourth guy in the rush. When there's a little play, they can lead the rush. It just allows you to try to keep the speed up. "You get those guys chipping in on a nightly basis, it can generate more. It's important. It's definitely generated more opportunities for us."

What to watch

Jake Oettinger had the two worst games of his NHL career last week. He had never been pulled in a game and then was pulled in consecutive starts while allowing nine goals on 36 shots.
At the time, he said he'd learn from the experience and dig in to come back.
"That's hockey, and that's goaltending," he said at the time. "It's not always going to be easy. I want to be a big part of this team and help this team win. I know I can do that. No matter what happens out there, I believe in myself. I know I can help this team win. I'm going to do everything in my power to get my game back to where it needs to be, and then help this team win."
Oettinger will get the start against the Flyers after sitting out the past two games, and coach Bowness said he's excited to see how the 23-year-old goalie responds.
"We all love working with young players," Bowness said. "Especially when he has such a good work ethic and character like Jake. He wants to get better, he's a great worker and a great teammate. You know they want to get better, and you know down the road, they are going to be a lot better."

Lineup update

After Luke Glendening was able to go home and play against the Red Wings, Stars players were looking forward to helping Michael Raffl come back and face his old team, the Flyers. Unfortunately, Raffl suffered a lower-body injury while blocking a shot and will be out for at least 10 days.
Both Andrej Sekera and Tanner Kero are out of COVID protocol and eligible for selection. Radek Faksa is out with a non-COVID illness.
Here is a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Seguin-Gurianov
Kiviranta-Peterson-Radulov
Tufte-Damiani-Glendening
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Klingberg
Hanley-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Holtby

Numbers

6

The Flyers ranks 29th in home wins at 6-9-4. They've lost 11 in a row overall.

51

The Stars rank 30th in second period goals against at 51, while the Flyers rank 28th at 49. Dallas ranks 22nd in second period goals for at 38, while Philadelphia ranks 28th at 36.

964

Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle is expected to play in his 964th consecutive game, tying former Stars assistant coach Doug Jarvis for the NHL's "Ironman" streak.

He said it

"We have been in ruts like that, I think every team has gone through it. You find ways to lose those games when you're stuck in ruts like that. It's a dangerous team, they got some players that like to make plays. From what we've seen, they want to play fast, they want to attack you. You can never take a team lightly like this. They want to get going, we want to keep going, it should be a good match." -- Pavelski on Philadelphia being in an 11-game losing streak.
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.