Heika’s Take: “Trusting the process” pays off as Stars down Senators

The Stars have been preaching all season that if they just stick with the process and do the right things, the puck should start going in the net.

In the past week, a once offensively-challenged team has started to see that philosophy pay off.

Roope Hintz had two goals, while Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn added one apiece as the Stars beat Ottawa, 4-2, on Thursday at American Airlines Center. The win pushes the lads in Victory Green to 4-0-1 in their past five outings and gives them 13 goals over the past three games. That’s impressive for a team that ranks 11th in goals per game after being third last season.

“We’re scoring some goals,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “The right guys are scoring some goals, the power play got a goal. When the goals are there, and we’re getting three or four a night, we’re a hard team to beat.”

The Stars have been without Tyler Seguin, who is out 4-6 months following hip surgery, and then lost Mason Marchment to a facial injury last week. That forced DeBoer to rearrange his lines, and some new chemistry has quickly formed. Jason Robertson and Hintz are playing with Evgenii Dadonov, and that trio has been on fire. Hintz has five goals in the past six games, Dadonov has two goals and three assists in the past five games, and Robertson has two goals and five assists in the past three games.

That takes a huge mental burden off all three players, but especially Robertson.

“You just have to stick with it,” Robertson said recently. “We outshot them and had a lot of shots and a lot of chances. That’s a good game plan for each and every game.”

Robertson was talking about the Buffalo win, but the same formula worked against Ottawa. Dallas had a 25-13 advantage in shots on goal and a 69-50 edge in shot attempts. That’s been part of the formula on most nights for the 23-13-1 squad, but on too many nights the scoring fell short or the opposing goaltending was just too good.

“Since we’ve switched the lines up, it feels like we’re a little more dangerous, getting more done, more jump in our game,” said Duchene, who now is playing beside Benn and Wyatt Johnston. “You’ve got to make adjustments when guys get hurt and the guys have been doing a really good job. It feels more fun out there right now, more is happening. I saw a stat tonight that goalies in the last seven games have a .937 save percentage against us at home, so we’re still finding more ways to win because we’re doing enough right things. We start getting enough ‘just good’ performances from goalies, we’ll score even more so we’re doing some good things and we’re getting rewarded.”

Duchene said he has rarely played beside Johnston, who is one of the team’s top young scorers, so getting a chance to build chemistry is huge now - and could be even bigger when Marchment comes back.

“This is my first three games playing with him ever, so it’s gone obviously really well,” Duchene said. “Jamie has been awesome too, played a little bit with him in the playoffs last year but not a ton. Johnny, Jamie and I, I think we see this game very similar and we like giving goals, and we forecheck and I think we’ve been getting goals and chances off good forecheck and then get pucks back and make plays. I think it’s pretty simple. Johnny’s got great vision out there, so does Jamie, and we got on the same page really quickly. It’s felt pretty good.”

The Stars opened the scoring on a power play – another area of recent concern – as Hintz tipped in a shot from Robertson. However, Ottawa came back and scored quickly off a turnover from defenseman Thomas Harley. The Senators doubled up on a turnover from Miro Heiskanen about a minute later, and Dallas exited the first period with a 2-1 deficit. In the second period, Benn scored off a nice passing combo from Duchene and Johnston, and then Hintz scored off an amazingly patient play from Robertson, who controlled the puck in net and then fed the center for his 18th goal of the season.

That turned out to be the game-winner, but Dallas was able to stretch the lead in the third period when Johnston made a great pass out to the slot for Duchene, who popped in his 15th goal. It was crucial for the Stars, who had seen a lack of finish frustrate them in losses to Toronto, New York and Minnesota.

That’s maybe where the offensive frustration was most tangible.

“I look back and the last games we’ve lost in regulation, Toronto, the Rangers, that was the case,” DeBoer said. “We outplayed them early for pretty big extended periods and didn’t extend the game, didn’t put the game away, we let them hang around and ended up on the wrong side of it. We seem to be putting those in now, which makes all the difference in the world.”

Dallas also did a great job shutting things down. The Stars held the Senators to just two shots on goal in the third period while protecting a one-goal lead for much of the time. That’s been part of the consistency that has allowed the team to stay in a good place in the standings.

“If you’re scoring one or two a night, then you’re going to be in a battle right to the buzzer for points,” DeBoer said. “If we can get three or four with the way we play and defend and our goaltending, we’re a tough team not to pick up points every night.”

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 X @MikeHeika.