<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3CGtXt_0wE8Uf9Z00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3CGtXt_0wE8Uf9Z00" width="1275" height="736" ></figure>Early this season, the Dallas Stars are flying high.Goalie Jake <a href="https://blackoutdallas.com/jake-oettinger-gets-his-pearl-by-signing-a-long-term-extension-to-remain-with-the-stars">Oettinger might be getting most of the credit</a>, and <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/jake-oettinger-signs-8-year-deal-with-dallas">that’s perfectly okay</a>.Here, we will discuss how Dallas’ defensemen and overall team defense are, at least for now, silencing their critics.<h2>Team Defense</h2>Miro <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/hockey/news/stars-miro-heiskanen-cold-start-on-offense/">Heiskanen is the best pure</a> defenseman in the game. Other guys like Illya Lybushkin have done better defensively than critics suggested this past off-season. Play on ice, as opposed to what’s been said about what’s ‘on paper,’ always wins the argument about a player’s game.Dallas is a team that prioritizes depth in all phases of the game. For defense, when <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars/latest-news/two-key-pieces-loaned-to-texas-stars-dumba-retroactively-placed-on-injure-reserve">Matt Dumba got hurt</a> and was placed on injured reserve, Matěj Blümel came up from the minors and is doing a serviceable job. Not only is the team deep in all positions, but much of that depth is a <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/stars-topple-oilers-as-dallas-youth-continues-to-fuel-hot-start-to-season/ar-AA1szjzu">ridiculously strong youth movement</a> within the organization.Aside from Thursday, October 17th, vs the Washington Capitals, when travel caught up to the Stars, the defense has been clear. Playing an 82-game schedule, you are inevitably not going to be at your best for each of those games. As a team, they have yet to give up more than three goals. Even if the Stars are just six games into the season, that’s still impressive.<h2>The Blue Line is Better Than Advertised</h2>Early this season, the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2024/10/19/stars-topple-oilers-as-dallas-youth-continues-to-fuel-hot-start-to-season/">Stars’ biggest reason for getting off to a 5-1 start</a> was the skaters on defense. The blue line has been well structured and, like the rest of the team, has been playing more of a physical game than last year.You won’t find many articles discussing hits in the NHL, but make no mistake—they matter, especially in the spring when defense and the defensive stats start to resonate even more. Separating the body from the puck is a defensive part of the game and is already helping that goal differential.We heard all off-season, and many of us said Dallas’ defense would take a step back this season. That hasn’t been the case. Dallas has yet to give up four goals in a game, and if anything, the scoring doesn’t seem up to par this early in the season. That doesn’t happen on goaltending alone on most nights.<h2>Thank the Goalies, Too</h2>While team defense has been great most of the time, keeping the puck out of the net is the number one job of the goalie. <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/2024-25-nhl-contract-tracker-stars-sign-goalie-jake-oettinger-to-eight-year-66-million-extension/">Recently extended Oettinger</a> has been an absolute brick wall in the net. Undefeated thus far, and shutting down the likes of Connor McDavid and Jonathan Marchessault to spark the Stars as among one of the best teams in the league.Let’s not forget about <a href="https://www.nhl.com/stars/news/heika-s-take-goaltending-shines-bright-again-as-casey-desmith-leads-dallas-stars-to-third-straight-win-101324">the newcomer Casey DeSmith</a>.A veteran backup goalie who has filled into a T after Scott Wedgewood left for the Nashville Predators this past off-season. Pitching <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/stars-blank-kraken-repeat-performance-050655053.html">back-to-back shutouts</a> between Oettinger and DeSmith was the goaltending clinic of the month so far in the NHL. The dynamic duo has thus far given up only 1.60 goals per game. It’s a number that isn’t likely to blow up over the next 76 games.PHOTO: Jerome Miron/Imagn Images</div></body>

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Getting Defensive: Dallas Stars Shining on Team Defense to Start Season

Early this season, the Dallas Stars are flying high. Goalie Jake Oettinger might be getting most of the credit, and that’s perfectly okay. Here, we will discuss how Dallas’ defensemen and overall team defense are, at least for now, silencing their critics. Team Defense. Miro Heiskanen is the...