Needless to say, the Dallas Stars have been an unstoppable force during the first half of the 15-16 season. They've exceeded all expectations and have thrived in every factor of the game. It seems that everything has been clicking: offense, defense, goaltending, special teams. For a writer who predicted the Stars to be fighting for a wild card spot at the end of the season, there is a lot to talk about.
In a previous article where I gave my divisional predictions for the current season, I had Dallas sitting at a spot where they would be in a battle with two other teams for one of the two Wild Card spots in the West. In a stacked division including the recent Stanley Cup champions, I saw Dallas finishing on the low-end because I was not sure they had the defensive depth or strength in the crease to propel them to the top of the lethal Central division. Sure, we all knew Swedish defensive phenom John Klingberg was more than likely going to have a breakout year, but even then I was not too sure that the rest of the Dallas defense anchor their team and give them enough blueline security.
Boy, was I off by a country mile. The Dallas offense just exploded this season, which does not come to much surprise. Captain and recent Art Ross Trophy winner Jamie Benn is currently leading the league in goals scored with 23. Benn is second overall in points with 50, and right behind him at the number three spot in points is his linemate, Tyler Seguin, who has amassed 48 total points so far. Seguin is also fourth in goals scored, with 21. The Stars offensive guns are firing with no clear intention of stopping anytime soon. Patrick Sharp, who was acquired in the offseason from Chicago, has done his job. Sharp's 13 goals and 17 assists are just what he was brought in to do, which is score and provide offensive depth to a team already brimming with offensive firepower.
Benn & Seguin
Then we have John Klingberg, a two-way defenseman who puts up first line forward-type offensive stats. The 23 year-old Swede is excelling in his second year at the NHL level, posting an incredible 33 points, with 28 of those coming as assists. We are not even at the All-Star break yet and Klingberg's play has earned him top pairing minutes and is easily his team's best defenseman. Klingberg was at one point third in the NHL in points. That's not points by defensemen, that is points by all players. It is crazy to see what Klingberg has provided and how much stronger he has made the Dallas defense corps. We knew he had this potential, but it is incredible that it seems that Klingberg's play lifted the Stars defense troops as a whole.
Klingberg
The Stars goalie tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi have proven that they can backstop a top NHL squad. Lehtonen posts a record of 12-2 while Niemi's record sits at 15-5-3. Both Niemi and Lehtonen's GAA sit below 2.50 while sharing the task of platooning the Dallas net.
So Dallas sits in a pretty comfortable spot. Their 27-8-3 record is best among NHL teams, proving all skeptics, including this writer, wrong. Dallas will still be a force come playoff time, and who knows... they may be eve stronger pending some perfectely executed trade deadline moves.
