Heika’s Take: Stars shut down Kraken to end trip, surge to seventh straight win

The Stars crafted a quietly methodical 3-0 victory on Saturday over Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena, but in a lot of ways, it was one of their best wins in the past few weeks.

Coming off a huge win over Vancouver on Thursday and ending a four-game road trip, there was an opportunity for this to become a “trap game.” Mix in a scoreless first period where Dallas dominated but couldn’t find the back of the net, and a scary moment when defenseman Chris Tanev left the game after an elbowing incident, and things could have really unraveled against the Kraken.

But the Stars played a solid possession game, cashed in on special teams, and pushed their current winning streak to seven games. That ties a franchise record (reached six times previously) and keeps Dallas in first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

“I liked our legs tonight,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I was a little worried about an emotional letdown after the Vancouver game, but I thought we came ready to play. We had good legs and good energy. It was a tough 60 minutes, they made it tough on us, but I thought we stuck with it.”

Dallas finished with a 30-17 advantage in shots on goal, a 68-44 edge in shot attempts and almost three times as many scoring chances. While the game was 1-0 at the start of the third period, the Stars had a lot of control. Wyatt Johnston gave the lads in Victory Green the 1-0 lead in the second period when he won a faceoff and deflected in a Nils Lundkvist shot. They then added to that lead in the third period under a bit of duress.

Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson rammed Tanev into the boards and received a game misconduct and five-minute major for elbowing. Tanev went to the dressing room with an apparent injury and Dallas scored a power play goal just eight seconds into the major. Joe Pavelski came up big, and the Stars had a 2-0 cushion that would prove impervious.

Tanev would eventually return to the ice for three shifts, but then sat on the bench for the remainder of the game. DeBoer said the veteran defenseman will be evaluated on Sunday. The Stars don’t play again until Wednesday at home against the Oilers.

“We don’t have an update yet,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, he went off, he tried to come back, he couldn’t finish. So we’ll have more news tomorrow when we evaluate him.”

That was the only blip in the game. Jake Oettinger recorded 17 saves for the shutout and Roope Hintz added an empty-net goal.

When asked about the depth scoring, DeBoer said, “I think that’s been the story of our season – contributions from different people. Really, Wyatt’s line has been at a different level the last 10 or 15 games since [Logan\] Stankoven got there. Those guys have really elevated.”

And when asked about Oettinger’s recent hot hand, DeBoer said, “He’s starting to find his game. It’s great to see that. We need that going in and we need to be good around him. I think that’s important.”

Now, the Stars once again have the opportunity to push the franchise record winning streak to new heights. Dallas had seven in both 2019-20 and 2021-22, and a few other times before that, but they have never been able to go beyond that.

While most players were unaware of the team record, Pavelski said it was still a positive.

“Those are good things,” Pavelski said. “You want to be playing well right now, you want to be winning games and you have to string them together. The focus is just keep winning, keep doing it the right way, and building our game toward the playoffs. Just make sure we’re ready.”

Dallas now sits 47-19-9 (103 points). Colorado has 100 points and has played one fewer game. Vancouver has 98 points and has played two fewer games. The Stars also tied their franchise record for road wins at 25 and for road points at 55 – both set last season. Dallas has two more road games to attempt to set new marks in those categories.

Keeping goals in mind has been an important motivation for the Stars as they work down the stretch to get themselves ready for the postseason.

“It was a perfect road trip,” Johnston said. “At this time of the year, it’s huge to have that confidence going forward. Obviously, the standings are so tight, so every point is so important.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.