Kids latest to step up, lead way in Stars' win over Canes

RALEIGH, N.C. --The Stars are getting different heroes every night, and that's kind of a cool thing.
On Tuesday, the newly assembled line of Jason Dickinson with Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov combined for three goals and seven points in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, helping propel the Stars to a 37-20-6 record, good for 80 points and second place in the Western Conference.

Dallas is 7-1-1 in their past nine games, and that includes games where they have been dominant and games where they have been ugly. Tuesday's was a little of both, as the Stars were outshot 41-16, and still found a way to score four pretty goals.
"Not a ton of shots, we would have liked more, but we cashed in when we needed to and we were able to hunker down until the end, said Dickinson, who had a goal and an assist.
The 24-year-old center has rolled up 164 NHL games, so he's becoming a bit of a veteran now and was the leader of the line Tuesday. Dickinson has become a solid defender and also can skate with Gurianov and Hintz, who are among the fastest players on the team.
"He can keep up, that's the biggest thing," Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. "He can try to skate with them, and he's smart enough to read off of them, and he's very reliable defensively. It's a good fit."

It was a line that gave the Hurricanes fits -- but not until the team's top line connected on maybe the biggest goal of the night.
Carolina won a huge game in Toronto on Saturday where it had to use "emergency backup goalie" David Ayres and still was able to beat the Maple Leafs, 6-4. Ayers, who is a 42-year-old Zamboni drive from Toronto, became a media superstar for three days, and much of Tuesday was spent celebrating his accomplishment.
So by the time the puck dropped at PNC Arena, the hometown fans were ready for a party.
PHOTOS: [See all the best shots from Stars' win over Hurricanes]
The problem was that Tyler Seguin scored his 16th goal of the season 51 seconds in and took a ton of air out of the building. The play was a beauty, as Jamie Benn made a nice pass from the half wall that Seguin tried to redirect with his stick between his legs. Carolina goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made the first save, but Seguin scored on his own rebound, and Dallas had a significant boost of momentum.
"That was a huge goal by Seguin, just to calm it down a bit," Bowness said. "That's a great story (with Ayers). There was a lot of noise coming in, and we needed that early goal to quiet that crowd and quiet that enthusiasm."
After that, the Hintz-Dickinson-Gurianov line took over. Gurianov slipped a pass to Hintz on the power play and the 6-foot-3, 220-pound forward took off on a gallop. He danced between a couple of defenders and then lifted a backhand past Nedeljkovic at the 17:20 mark for a 2-0 lead.

Bowness went right back to that line and Hintz put a hard shot off back glass in the final minute of the period. Dickinson cleaned up the loose puck in front of the net for his ninth goal of the season at the 19:09 mark, and the stunned crowd was silent as Dallas headed to the first intermission with a 3-0 lead.
Carolina came back with a Sebastien Aho goal early in the second period, but Hintz made a nice tip pass to Gurianov 13 minutes in, and Gurianov snapped in his 18th goal of the season.
It was a lovely display of chemistry, hard work, and skill.
"Give the puck up to them and come in as the late guy," Dickinson said. "Those two are so fast, and you get them the puck with a little bit of space, and they're going to expose it."
In addition to the goals, Hintz drew a penalty on one breakaway and Gurianov was stopped on another.
"Guri had a breakaway, Roope had that breakaway that ended in a penalty," Dickinson said. "Just give them the puck and tell them to drop your shoulder and go to the net. … Let them skate with it, and good things will happen."

Hintz has already earned the trust of the coaching staff with his improved play, and Gurianov is starting to do the same. Both get limited minutes because they don't kill penalties. Gurianov logged a team-low 11:06 in time on ice Tuesday, while Hintz played 13:09. Bowness said Hintz might start killing penalties at some point, but that Gurianov won't this season.
That said, both players are getting better defensively.
"They're much more aware in our zone, and much more reliable," Bowness said. "We don't get into a whole lot of match-ups, we teach our players that if we're going to trust you on the ice, you have to be trustworthy. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't; but when it doesn't, they learn.
"That's the most important thing; they're learning and they're becoming more reliable."
Dickinson said he has seen the growth in his younger teammates and said they know that the formula of playing defense to create offense works.
"I think it comes down to maturing as players," Dickinson said. "Guri has 18 goals now. That doesn't happen unless we trust him defensively. It's a great thing for him that he's bought into that, because he's proving to be a valuable asset for us."

In fact, both are actually playing as well or better than they did in the AHL. Hintz's best season in the AHL was 20 goals in 70 games. He has 18 in 53 games this year. Gurianov tallied 20 goals in 57 AHL games last season and now has 18 in 58 games in the NHL.
"They're two competitive players so the competition is going to raise their level more," Dickinson said. "They get to play with better players at the same time. Like myself, I played with Roope in the AHL, and I've gotten better. It's just beneficial to go with good players and learn from them."
It's one of the reasons Stars general manager Jim Nill
decided to stand pat at the trade deadline
. He said he liked his team and he liked the way his younger players are developing. Tuesday was an example of that.
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"We're coming out of the gate strong. We're bending a little bit, but we're not breaking. We're surviving, we're getting the big saves. Special teams the last couple of games have been a lot better, so it's a combination of things," Bowness said when asked about the 7-1-1 run.
"When we win, it's what we saw today. Regardless of what the shot clock said, we had a lot of really good chances from playing good defense in our zone."
In fact, Bowness said the shot clock differential wasn't indicative of the game at all. Dallas was protecting a 4-1 lead in the third period and was outshot 19-1. However, the Stars didn't give up very many scoring chances in the final 20 minutes.

"I'll take our chances all night," Bowness said. "The breakaways we had, the odd-man rushes we had, we'll take those all night. We didn't finish like we wanted, but we created."
And if they keep creating with players like Hintz and Gurianov, then maybe that finish will get better.
"There's been a few games in there where we weren't doing things right … we got away with a couple maybe in there," Dickinson said of the recent roll. "But lately we're bought into this system. Guys are committed to what we are and to our identity."
An identity that's soaking in at every level.
"Yeah, of course, that's the biggest thing," Hintz said. "When you get good defense, you get offense."
It sounds so simple.
Don't miss your chance to see the Stars battle the Edmonton Oilers when they return home to American Airlines Center on Tuesday, March 3. The first 5,000 fans receive a limited-edition poster presented by Dr Pepper. Get your tickets now!
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, and listen to his podcast.