NEW YORK _ The Stars wandered the wilderness for six weeks, begrudgingly adapting and adjusting to life without one of the league's best lines. Through ineffectiveness and injuries, line-shuffling and post-ringing, Dallas was missing goal-scoring from its top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov.
They'd comprised one of the league's most dynamic lines beginning last season, but had largely been quiet in the month leading into the Stars' 6-2 thrashing of the Islanders on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. They showed up Sunday.
Benn, Seguin and Radulov each had three points against New York, leading an offensive explosion that also included two goals from defenseman Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz's first career NHL goal.
"We've been waiting for them to get hot again since the fourth game of the year," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "And it's a great time, with all those games."
Radulov had two goals and an assist. Seguin had a goal and two assists. Benn had three assists. The nine-point total was the most for the trio since they had 10 combined points in a win over Winnipeg in the second game of the season on Oct. 6.
"I think they stepped up and showed why they are a first line," Lindell said.
The Stars win on Sunday afternoon kicked off a three-game road trip and a stretch in which Dallas plays seven of eight games away from the American Airlines Center. It was the eighth time in the last 10 games the Stars (11-7-2) have picked up points.
Defenseman Gavin Bayreuther also collected his first NHL point and Spezza's assist on Hintz's goal was his 900th career point.
While contributions from recent recalls like Hintz and Bayreuther and a suddenly offensively charged Lindell are welcome, no aspect of Sunday's game will impact the rest of the Stars season quite like the performance of the No. 1 line will.
They opened the season on fire, with 27 points in the first four games, including 11 goals. In the next 15 games leading into Sunday, they had 16 points, including seven goals.
The top line train grinded to a halt as Radulov missed 10 of 11 games with a lower-body injury and Seguin tied a career-worst by going 12 games between goals and Benn endured a seven-game goal drought himself. To try to jumpstart his superstars, Montgomery split up Benn and Seguin. Nothing seemed to work.
"I think as a line, it's a little bit hard because we weren't playing together for like a month," Radulov said. "I was injured. Guys were playing on different lines. I think the first game we played together (Monday against Columbus), it was not bad. ... Today, I felt like we were going and were reading off each other and try to move the puck faster, simplify and win our battle. That's the key."
Seguin's goal in the second period gave the Stars a 4-1 lead after he received a fortuitous bounce behind the Islanders net and banged home his sixth goal of the season. Radulov's third-period goal made it 5-2 when he snuck out of the defensive zone for a breakaway, finishing with a smooth backhand. Radulov also tapped in a loose puck less than two minutes later for his eighth goal of the season.
Radulov's insertion to the lineup Monday against Columbus injected the Stars with life, and his evident passion and appetite for the game can become contagious. So when Montgomery was asked what signs he looks for from the top line to recognize their success, he _ knowingly or not _ responded with attributes that Radulov embodies.
"I see speed and I see tenacity," Montgomery said. "When they're not tenacious is when they go through the spell they went through for a while for us."
Radulov added: "Every shift is a new opportunity, new life. There's a battle everywhere on the ice so you just have to create this momentum and help each other. That's what we try to do, Jamie, me, Tyler, all we do, just have to work. We're talking about this every day, trying to work without the puck, try to get the puck back and create something."
A big afternoon from Benn, Seguin and Radulov can also help rescue the dragging Stars power play, which went 0-for-3 against the Islanders. They are now scoring on just 9.76 percent of man-advantages since Oct. 16.
The unit has struggled since Radulov and John Klingberg have suffered injuries, and have only had their top unit (Benn, Seguin, Radulov, Jason Spezza and Klingberg) together for 6:22 in the last 14 games. Plus, Klingberg is expected to miss at least five weeks with a broken hand.
"We have too much talent for them not to fix it," Montgomery said. "I just think that that work ethic that's on the 5-on-5 game needs to translate to the power play."
