Two teams coming off mutual offensive breakouts meet on Thursday when the Dallas Stars visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Entering Tuesday’s contest with the Colorado Avalanche, the Jackets were on a two-game losing streak and had a league-low 28 goals. However, Mathieu Olivier scored just 28 seconds into the first period to set the tone in a 7-2 Columbus rout.
“it’s great for our team to have these wins, and just kind of knowing that we’re trending in the right way,” said Charlie Coyle, who had two goals and two assists against Colorado.
“You want to get rewarded for playing the right way … We’re seeing that consistency more and more and to get a good result to kind of give us confidence to stay that way is a big one for us.”
Coyle felt the Blue Jackets had been a little unlucky in several close results this season, including a 3-1 loss in Dallas on Saturday. That score reflected a Stars team that has been generally excellent at goal prevention, but whose own offense (38 goals in their first 14 games) has been lacking.
The Stars’ narrative flipped in a hurry with Tuesday’s 6-5 road win over the Washington Capitals. Jason Robertson scored a natural hat trick to help Dallas build a 4-0 lead midway through the second period, and the Stars then had to hang on as the Capitals kept chipping away.
Miro Heiskanen’s absence surely aided Washington’s comeback attempt, as the Stars defenseman left the game early in the second period due to an upper-body injury. Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said Heiskanen would be re-evaluated and hadn’t yet been ruled out of Thursday’s lineup.
The Stars are 4-1-1 in away games this season, outscoring opponents 18-10.
“We feel like we’re a little bit better, more crisp on the road coming in and kind of establishing our game so far this season,” Robertson said. “I think our home record needs to improve but guys embrace going on the road, (and) embrace the challenge going into a hostile environment.”
Robertson and Mikko Rantanen have an equal number of goals (eight), assists (10), and points to share the team lead in all three categories. Wyatt Johnston also has a share of the Stars’ assists lead.
Jake Oettinger allowed five goals on 25 Capitals shots in a forgettable performance for the star goalie. Oettinger has started 12 of Dallas’ 15 games, so if the workload is starting to impact Oettinger’s play, backup goalie Casey DeSmith could get the nod in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets also play on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres, so goaltenders Cam Talbot and Jet Greaves will split the two starts in some order.
Coyle (three goals, 10 assists) and Kent Johnson (seven goals, six assists) each have 13 points to share the Jackets’ team lead. Zach Werenski leads the team with 12 assists, though the star defenseman is still looking for his first goal of the season.
Columbus was 2-for-4 on the power play Tuesday, though the team has a modest 17.1% (6-for-35) power-play percentage this season.
The Stars’ 90% (45-for-50) penalty-kill percentage is one of the best in the NHL, even after allowing two power-play goals to the Capitals.