4.0 Version of Stars Runs Flawlessly vs. Predators

DALLAS – In the wake of Wednesday night’s 6-0 drubbing of Nashville, the Marc Crawford Stars are scoring more than any previous model of Dallas NHL hockey at 4.0 goals a game. Had Tom Hicks’ other team been producing like this, Rudy Jaramillo wouldn’t be copying off his resume.

The highest scoring version of the Dallas Stars to date is the initial 1993-94 transplants, at 3.40. Last season’s final Dave Tippett group averaged 2.73. (The overall franchise high is 4.32 from Minnesota’s 1981-82 team led by Dino Ciccarelli’s 55 goals and Bobby Smith’s 43).

The great Dino

This year’s team has yet to lose in regulation, which was also the case through five games two years ago. Wednesday night’s game mirrored much of the previous four in that scoring was well distributed among forwards across multiple lines. In the 15 regulation periods played in five games, the Stars have scored in 12 of them.

Is this a product of the Crawford up-tempo system or guys simply off to a good start? “It’s probably a combination of both,” said captain Brenden Morrow, who had two of the four goals that came in the opening nine minutes. “We’ve got guys that are pretty confident right now coming off real good years. And the system is directing a lot of pucks at the net. We’re crashing and banging, and so far we’re getting rewarded.”

Morrow has four goals in four games. Brad Richards has points in all five. In a system that encourages defensemen to enter the attack and forwards to drop back to cover them, young defenseman Nicklas Grossman usually stays at home and is leading the league in plus-minus at +10. (Quick, who led the NHL in plus-minus last season?) Grossman’s even-strength sidekick, Stephane Robidas, is tied for second at +8.

“Forwards come back and help us defensively,” Robidas said, “so we don’t spend so much time in our own zone.”

The presence of a struggling Nashville team can’t be deducted from Wednesday night’s equation. The Predators came off a 6-1 loss to Edmonton and have played without their top scorer from last season, J.P. Dumont, since Robidas knocked him into the boards on opening night. Their power play came in ranked 29^th and went 0-for-4 a day after Crawford kept his team late at practice to work on penalty killing and shootout shots.

Not sure if the NHL keeps records on the earliest timeout taken, but Nashville coach Barry Trotz resorted to his after only 3:57 with the deficit at 2-0. Starting goalie Dan Ellis was gone after the third goal, all even strength, at 6:31. If the Predators’ pesky Jordan Tootoo hadn’t been sidelined with a quad injury, surely mayhem would have ensued at that point.

With the early 4-0 lead, Dallas didn’t need to load ice time onto the two big scoring lines, instead using all four equally. Which center played the most? Try Tom Wandell at 15:38. Richards had a goal and two assists yet played four and a half minutes less than in the Stars’ only other 60-minute game this season, the 5-2 win at Calgary. All of this playing without Mike Modano and Steve Ott.

One interested observer said of the Dallas attack: “They’ve got so much young talent here. It’s fun to watch them play.” Nashville center Jason Arnott, the former Star, added it wasn’t much fun to play against them.

“It’s a lot younger than the team that I played on. The way the game’s changing now, that’s what you need. Crafty, young kids that can fly around.”

Marty Turco wasn’t an innocent bystander. He made some outstanding saves in notching his 37^th career shutout. Maybe his taking a shutout into the third period was the catalyst for avoiding any letdown. Like Calgary blowing a 5-0 first-period lead at Chicago this week.

“Nobody mentioned that,” Morrow said, “but I’m sure everyone was thinking about that.”

(Next in-game blog will be Friday night when the Stars host Boston.)