Heika’s Take: Stars get contributions from up and down the lineup in rout of Canadiens

There was a proper amount of ado placed on two young Stars forwards returning to their native Quebec to play at the much-heralded Bell Centre in Montreal.

After all, Mavrik Bourque and Justin Hryckowian had almost 200 friends and family cheering them on in the crowd as each player tallied an assist in a dominant 7-0 Dallas win.

Kind of a big deal.

Just as important, and maybe missed a little, was the fact that goalie grew up in nearby New Hampshire and also was fired up to go against his boyhood heroes. And the 34-year-old goalie came up with 24 saves to earn his 13th career shutout.

“It was great,” said DeSmith. “It’s a fun place to play. You ask most anyone in the league and they think this is the No. 1 place to play, and I’m no different growing up a Habs fan.”

The Stars have been zig-zagging through the season, struggling to find consistency. They have fallen behind in games and rallied back. They have squandered leads and lost at just the wrong time.

But Thursday was a lot better. Yes, the lads in Victory Green again started slow and had to lean on DeSmith’s 14-save first period to hold onto a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. After that, though, Dallas played maybe its most complete game of the season and received contributions from up and down the lineup.

Wyatt Johnston tallied on the power play in the first period, his 100th goal keep the Stars second in the league in power play success at 32.8 percent.

Dallas then busted the game open in the second period. Esa Lindell snuck into the slot for his second goal of the season four minutes into the middle frame. Jason Robertson then fed Tyler Seguin for a breakaway, and it was 3-0 just seven minutes in.

Robertson, who battled a slump for much of the past month, then took the energy from his great pass and helped convert it into two goals a minute and a half apart.

The first was a sneaky shot off a perfect feed from Thomas Harley, while the second was a fortunate bounce on a shot that went through a crowd. Robertson was on a nine-game goal drought, but now with three in his past two games, he seems to have shaken off the bad luck.

“I wouldn’t say easier, but it is happening more,” Robertson said. “It feels good.”

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Robertson has been leading the team in shots on goal and scoring chances, so he has just stayed patient and persistent.

“That’s why you’ve got to stick with it,” Gulutzan said. “Confidence is a funny thing. When you’ve been that good of a scorer for that long, you’ve just got to stick with it. It’s a credit to him. He never really got too down on himself.”

Robertson said the whole team has been that way. That’s why they’re 11-4-3 while still posting possession stats that are near the bottom of the league. But as it was in allowing the players to enjoy the experience in Montreal, Gulutzan also said the coaches were methodical.

“The game early on was on a tightrope, but I thought we executed really well,” Gulutzan said. “We finished our chances. It’s not like we out-chanced them a lot, but we finished our chances. At the times in the game when the game could have gone either way, [DeSmith] made some big saves.”

That’s huge for this team. With forwards such as Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, and Adam Erne out, the Stars are having to constantly adjust. With DeSmith getting some extra games this month, he too is finding himself in the middle of the battle more often.

Likewise, Radek Faksa had three assists, Colin Blackwell and Alexander Petrovic each scored goals, and Petrovic finished plus-5 while partner Lian Bichsel was plus-4.

“We had a lot of contributors and you need that to beat a good team like this,” Gulutzan said.

It helps when the contributions come from a lot of differently motivated players.

“It’s a big game for a lot of guys,” Gulutzan said. “it’s a special place to play. You can feel it walking into the rink.”

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.