Heika’s Take: Marchment, Stars cap 2023 with emphatic win over Blackhawks

We have had the Hullenium. We have had Happy Nieuwy Year. We have had the Marty Party.

It’s been a while, but now we can add to the pantheon of great Dallas Stars traditions with “The Mushy New Year.”

Mason “Mush” Marchment on Sunday tallied a hat trick in an 8-1 Stars win over the Chicago Blackhawks, and in doing so created an indelible memory for himself and the franchise.

Yes, the game was a total team victory and maybe the best game of the year for the Stars, who move to 22-9-4 and stay in a three-team logjam in the Central Division, but the night was big for the 28-year-old Marchment, who lost his father last year and has been battling to become a big part of the Stars.

“The whole group is really happy for him,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’s a really popular guy in the dressing room. Everybody feels for what he went through last year personally. We always had faith in him. I really felt that he was in a much better place this year coming into camp than he was a year ago with his life. He was settled and he had a year to grieve and get through that process. Everyone’s really excited for him. When he’s playing like he is now, he’s a really effective guy for us.”

Marchment last season tallied 12 goals among 31 points, in 68 games. This season, he’s already at 13 goals among 25 points in 35 games. That’s a remarkable boost, and it reflects just how much more comfortable he is, and just how much he has clicked with new linemates Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin. Seguin had a goal and two assists, Duchene had two assists, and Marchment added an assist for a four-point night. The trio was a combined plus-8 in the game.

“He’s going to the net, closing his eyes, and the puck is going in,” Seguin joked. “No, he’s a force out there. We always tell him he can be the best F1 in the league as far as getting in on forechecks. He opens up so much space for Dutchy and I, and it was nice to see him get rewarded.”

Marchment called the final goal - a redirection of an Esa Lindell shot - fortunate, as it redirected in off of a Chicago player, but added, “You get lucky every once in a while.”

The first assist was maybe his best play of the night as he took a puck from Duchene after the veteran center won an intense puck battle, and then flung it across the ice to a wide open Seguin, who had an easy tap-in.

“The first one was nice,” Marchment said. “Me and Dutchy playing a two-man game and Seg’s getting open in front, it was nice to get a line goal.”

It pushed the Stars’ lead to 3-0 late in the first period and kind of set the tone against an 11-23-2 Chicago team that has been struggling this season. Dallas had to battle on Friday to take a 5-4 overtime win against these same Blackhawks and has allowed the first goal against in 20 of 35 games, so the emphasis was on scoring first and playing well early.

“The main thing we wanted to fix from the previous night was to not get in a hole,” DeBoer said. “That first period set the tone for the rest of the night, which is something we haven’t done enough of in this building. We want to continue to do that and build on that.”

The fourth line had plenty of jump and created a nice cycle 11 minutes into the first period. Sam Steel put a shot on net, and Craig Smith deflected it in for a 1-0 lead. Then, six minutes later, defenseman Ryan Suter scored his first of the year, and the Stars were playing with confidence and with the lead.

“Tonight, it was a big emphasis to make sure we come out and start the right way,” Suter said. “We don’t want to play from behind all of the time. Against teams like this, you want to get up and keep your foot on the gas.”

The Stars did that. Seguin followed with a late goal in the first, and then Steel flew into the offensive zone and scored on a beautiful top shelf backhand for a 4-0 lead. Marchment got his first to make it 5-0 and then Roope Hintz made it 6-1 early in the third period.

The game was pretty much decided by then, but Marchment still had a trick up his sleeve. He purposely redirected a Seguin shot in for his second goal of the game, and then got a great bounce on the third goal to finish the historic night.

While the trio of Marchment, Seguin and Duchene can play a little risky at times, they make up for it by taking over games for long stretches.

“They’re creative, they’re reading off each other, they’re making plays,” Suter said. “They’re not afraid to turn the puck over, but they hustle back. It’s fun to see everyone having success.”

And it’s fun to see the Stars growing throughout the season. They have been great at making comebacks, but they also know they can control a game from the start to finish if they put their mind to it.

“This is a sport where you try to chase that full 60 minutes, and it’s hard to do,” Seguin said. “Tonight, our main focus was getting off to a better start and not chasing the game, and we did that to a T.”

Marchment especially.

“I feel like we’re getting Grade A’s every game,” Marchment said. “As long as we play good D zone, the rest is going to take care of itself.”

It’s the kind of performance that will make this season memorable.

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.