"They have something special," DeBoer said. "I've done that before. You try to separate guys to hope that you can create three great lines, and it's rare that works. When guys have that type of chemistry, you have to respect that."
The Stars followed a similar script to what they did in the season opener Thursday at Nashville. They scored early, they held the lead and they closed things down in the end. This time, Hintz took a breakout pass from Miro Heiskanen and went in on a shorthanded breakaway just 4:46 into the game.
That held up through the first period, and then Hintz scored seconds into the second period off a nice passing play from Pavelski and Robertson, and the American Airlines Center was buzzing. The crowd was almost rewarded four minutes later with another top line beauty, but Pavelski's goal was disallowed after Nashville lodged a successful offside challenge. That gave the Predators a little life, but then Heiskanen and Robertson connected on a fantastic rush, and that made it 3-0.
Robertson found Heiskanen driving the net, and Heiskanen redirected in his first goal of the season on a bang-bang play at the net. It was exactly what DeBoer was preaching in preseason when he wanted to play fast, play well in transition and activate his defensemen.
"It does a little bit," Heiskanen said when asked if the game feels different under the new coaching staff. "I think it's more active and we are playing more with the puck, so I really like that."
