Stray Observations (Game 10): The pendulum swings back as Dallas shuts out Washington

A well-deserved (and much needed) 1-0 win.

There’s a lot going on right now. Between the food fight between the Stars and Mavericks and the city over…arena stuff…Thomas Harley’s rumored extension, and even more injury news in Dallas — let’s just say I hope you enjoy stuffed crust.

On the hockey side of things I just did a deep dive into a small sample by looking at Dallas’ shot quality performance in terms of even-strength offense, defense, power play, and the penalty kill. Give it a read! Against a Washington team that is more or less where Dallas is (first wildcard spot), Tuesday night would be a good gauge for whether or not this team is trending in a better direction.

It wasn’t the most exciting affair. In fact, there were times when one might have wondered if Dallas would ever generate anything at all. But between the defense, the penalty kill, and Jake Oettinger — there’s not a ton to really pick apart.

We can get into the broad strokes when the famous/infamous Thanksgiving cutoff hits. For sure, the possession demons still hang over this team. Even-strength scoring needs to dig out of a six-foot hole. But they’ve managed to pick up wins in diverse ways, which I would argue is a good sign, long term. Especially given the injuries.

ESPN: Tom Wilson’s publicist

“It looks like they got tangled up,” ESPN broadcasts told us; as Tom Wilson clearly threw a crosscheck on Colin Blackwell while he was in a vulnerable position.

No it was not the ugliest crosscheck in the world. I suspect the positioning had a lot to do with why Blackwell got the worst of it. But I’m trying to envision my own personal, bleeding heart, utopian version of a halfway decent broadcast where Wilson’s extensive history of dirty, sometimes barbaric play is not whitewashed just because it’s been 24 hours since he brained another hockey player, or because he has manners in front of a mic — where a player who doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt isn’t given the benefit of the doubt. Is that really such a stretch?

Turtle power

Stats are a funny thing. We know intuitively when they’re noise, but do we know the pitch of that noise? That’s the real question. So while Dallas’ defense has looked funky, and indeed, as we explored — they’re something of a contradiction insofar as they seem to be defending well, but they’re defending too often — the second period looked like a building block for how this formula can sort of work in their favor (at least in spots). Yes, Dallas was outshot by a lot in the second. But high danger chances were only 5-3 in Washington’s favor. I don’t know that it’s a winning formula, but the Capitals couldn’t score, and that’s half the scoring battle.

Penalty kill

The PK has gotten some smoke, and the smoke is real, as we discussed early today. But there’s definitely some PDO smoke there. The Stars are giving up the kind of shot quality you wouldn’t expect, but not the kind of shot quality that should earn them the rank of 27th where they were before tonight. Of all the things that we can expect a shift in, it’s definitely the PK. Nothing has changed on that front, and we saw what this team could do when when they’re at their hottest. They played Washington super aggressive, taking away the points on almost every setup while protecting the house. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Meandering Strays

• There has to be a better way to accommodate games stacked on top of one another. The first several minutes of this game were played in PIP format while the broadcast for the Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia that looked like it would never end droned on and on.

• Configuring the top six with all the injuries is tough. It’s not pretty. But I think it speaks to the gravity both Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson have as singular threats that the team hasn’t cratered completely. Granted, Robertson has a lot more backup; especially now that Tyler Seguin is in that top spot. But it really underscores what the offense has potential to be once they’re fully healthy.

• I thought Wyatt Johnston had another really good game. It’s unfortunate that that line has yet to score, but that’s part of why I can’t be bothered to worry. They’re unfortunate; not bad or flawed. Just unfortunate.

• If you haven’t read today’s piece in the Dallas Morning News by Lia Assimakopoulos and Brad Townsend, you need to. The Mavericks and the Stars are in the middle of a food fight involving the arena with far-reaching consequences; consequences that reach all the way to Plano.