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The Dallas Stars played another wild one, using a third-period rally in a 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
A big one for Bourque
Mavrik Bourque has not had the blistering start to the season some anticipated.
After his ups and downs under Pete DeBoer, I really thought Bourque would get a full reset and have a great year. There is still plenty of time for that, but he has had more struggles than successes so far with only one goal, three points, and a minus-7 in his first 14 games.
He was moved down to the bottom six, and it just felt like he needed something to go in for him.
Well…
This is not only a big goal for Bourque, but it is also a picturesque Mavrik Bourque goal. Bourque is not as skilled as Wyatt Johnston. He’s not as big or elite as Mikko Rantanen. He is not as defensively responsible or fast as Roope Hintz.
He is sort of in between all of them.
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When Bourque is at his best, he is a 200-foot player. He is responsible in his own end. He drives hard to the net and uses his vision to make good passes. He plays a simple game.
That goal was right up his alley, and hopefully it feeds his confidence and pushes him to some better, more consistent play. Because if he doesn’t turn out to be what we thought, or near it, at the NHL level, the Stars depth is very, very thin. And it’s already thin.
I remember this Roope Hintz
Roope Hintz can be one of the best and fastest players in the NHL. The problem is he doesn’t do it consistently.
It’s one of the more confusing and frustrating things among Stars fans. Hintz will have a game where he looks like a top-10 player. He bursts through the middle of the ice multiple times, either creating a chance or scoring on breakaways after splitting the defense. Or he pushes defenders off and creates offense using the space he opened up behind him. He is also a lockdown defensive player, wins faceoffs, looks dangerous on the power play, and wins just about every race to a loose puck.
Then, he disappears for two weeks and looks very average, almost like he is just going through the motions. I am not saying that’s what he’s doing. But it is certainly what it looks like.
As of now, I don’t have an answer. But the good news is that today seems to be one of the good days for No. 24.
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Also, I know how much this drove Luds nuts… because he didn’t stop yelling about it until about the start of the third period. So I will post it here.
I am excited to ask Johnston about this next week.
“He plays like he’s always angry at somebody”
If you know me, you know I enjoy watching Justin Hryckowian play hockey.
I’m an old school guy. I like players who get feisty, don’t take Sugar Honey Iced Tea from anyone, and fight for their space on the ice. I also like when players stand up for their teammates.
I give you, Justin Hryckowian.
Not only did he stand up for teammates and get Brent Severyn to say the quote I used in this heading, but he also buried his second career goal and replicated his cele from the first.
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How about that tic-tac-toe passing play so tight to the crease? Bourque clearly had his best game of the year, and the Stars cashed in to tie it in the third.
Then, all hell broke loose, as Dallas trailed 4-3, tied it 4-4, took a 5-4 lead, and held on tight for a 5-4 win.
I will tell you this… no game is boring when it features the Dallas Stars. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said he believes his team will start to play much better in games 20-40, when teams usually begin to separate themselves one way or the other.
Today was game 15. So, we’re getting close.
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