Defending Big D · Aug 22, 2020
No Extra Motivation Required as Stars Face Avalanche
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports For the second consecutive year, the Dallas Stars have advanced beyond the first round of the NHL playoffs.
Having Matthew Tkachuk out of the lineup for most of the series with the Calgary Flames certainly helped. So did some minor adjustments that the Stars made to the forward matchups.
A line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov didn’t show up much on the scoresheet, but the reunion of the Big 3 certainly coincided with the team’s improved fortunes. Specifically, the trio was called on to go heads up against the Flames’ third line - the only line that was driving play. And they neutralized the threat.