Forward Denis Gurianov skated on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on Monday. Those three played together for 5:25 during 5-on-5 play in Saturday's game in Colorado and produced one goal. That line also had a 5-2 advantage in scoring chances for and a 4-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances for, according to naturalstattrick.com.
After practice, Montgomery discussed what he likes about Gurianov on that line.
"Just his instincts, his speed, his ability to shoot in stride. He's looking like he is an NHL player," Montgomery said. "Today in practice he is jumping out at you. He's not just a player that is good in flashes; he just seems to be good all the time now. He's looking dominant out there."
Gurianov, who had one assist in 13:41 of ice time Saturday, had a great rush in the game where he weaved his way through the Avalanche defense to create a scoring chance. Montgomery was asked if people should get excited about Gurianov or tap the brakes and see what happens moving forward.
"Teammates and coaches have gotten excited, so I hope you guys are getting excited and fans are getting excited," Montgomery said. "That rush he did the other day, we haven't seen anyone go coast to coast through a couple of guys like that all year. It's another offensive dynamic that we could become two offensive lines here with him."
Another move among the forward lines was shifting Radek Faksa to left wing on a line with center Martin Hanzal and right wing Tyler Pitlick.
"We have a lot of guys who can play center and play center well. It's much easier to go from center to wing than it is wing to center if you haven't played it," Montgomery said. "Radek is a great teammate, and he looked good on the wing. He was moving well, which is not usual for a guy who has played center his whole life that goes to wing, but that's a compliment to him and what a team guy he is."
One other note: The Stars placed defenseman Joel Hanley on waivers with the intention of sending him to the Texas Stars of the AHL.