DALLAS _ The play was sweet, a no-look backhand dish through the slot to a streaking player meeting the puck and burying it past the goaltender. But the line in the scoresheet might look sweeter to Stars fans: Goal by Denis Gurianov, assist to Roope Hintz.
The goal came in the Stars' 4-1 win over the Canadiens on Saturday night, a victory that extended the team's winning streak to three games and handed Dallas its sixth win in the last seven games. A team that once began the season 1-7-1 _ with questions about their best players and their coaches and their management _ is now 7-8-1 and appears to be on solid ground after a disastrous start.
"We've won six of seven now, but we're still not at .500," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "So you know what? We're going to enjoy the day off, catch up on some NFL or whatever the guys want to do, have a good steak barbecue or whatever they're barbecuing. And then let's get back to work on Monday."
The kids can be thanked for that.
Gurianov, 22, scored twice Saturday against Montreal, his second two-goal game in the last 10 days. Hintz, 22, scored the team's only two goals the night prior in Colorado, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen, 20, has been on the ice for nine of the team's last 12 goals.
Gurianov and Hintz and Heiskanen were thought of as the team's future, and they still are, with their explosive bursts of speed and high-end skill and entry-level contracts. They are the most entertaining part of Stars games now and their play can resemble a fireworks show: You know something is going to happen and it's going to be colorful and loud, but you just don't know what shape it'll take.
For Hintz, it's his 220-pound frame that shouldn't be able to blow past defenders as easily as he does, and a quick-release shot that has confounded goaltender. For Heiskanen, it's the quiet poise on the blue line and in transition, the head fakes and shoulder fakes, sweep checks and poke checks that make his brilliance sometimes invisible. For Gurianov, it's the instant caffeine he can provide a sleepy game, with a wicked backhand or a hard-charging backcheck to boost the Stars.
Hintz and Heiskanen introduced themselves to the world last season; Heiskanen on his second shift and Hintz in the postseason. Gurianov took a little longer.
Gurianov was the No. 12 pick in the 2015 draft, but toiled in the AHL without a shot at NHL playing time. He was a healthy scratch during the Calder Cup playoffs two seasons ago. He followed up a strong season last year with a forgettable training camp. This season, Gurianov was a healthy scratch in the NHL after three games and needed a hat trick in the AHL to earn his recall.
He's earned not only the right to stick in the NHL but also to stick with a sizable role.
"When you're a young kid and you're looking for that confidence, you're looking for that first one," Stars goaltender Ben Bishop said. "He got that, you could see it starting to come. He's getting a little bit more comfortable. He's seeing where he can take his chances and I think tonight, you could see everything coming together, how many chances he had."
What illuminates Hintz and Gurianov and Heiskanen's success is the juxtaposition with the Stars' franchise cornerstones at their positions. Hintz and Gurianov have combined for 13 goals. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have four. As Benn has endured an 11-game goalless streak and Seguin has produced one goal in the last 12 games, Hintz and Gurianov have wowed.
Heiskanen has nine points to John Klingberg's three. As the power play has slumped, Heiskanen's unit has looked like the top one instead of the one run by Klingberg.
These players were thought of as the successors to Benn and Seguin and Klingberg, not the usurpers. But if the proven veterans can start finding the back of the net (Seguin and Benn's shooting percentages would both be career lows), the Stars distant dreams of potential can become tangible victories in the present.
In the last two games, Hintz and Gurianov have provided not sneak peeks, but rather the main features.
"Them two, special to watch right now," Montgomery said.
