The Other Stars: A tough weekend for Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven

Texas lost both games to Chicago this week.

The Texas Stars are in a little bit of a freefall. They’ve only won one game in the new year, going 1-4 in the first five games of 2024. This weekend they were outscored 7-2 to the Chicago Wolves, both at home. The Wolves aren’t even a good team, but alas (insert joke about Texas bringing in that Dallas Cowboys energy*). As a result, Texas has slipped in the standings, and are now four points behind Milwaukee in the standings. They are, however, seven points ahead of the next closest team (Rockford).

But you’re not here for a Texas Stars update. You’re here for Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven; and in that order because Bourque still leads the league with 42 points, and just one ahead of Stankoven. Which works for me because I am too.

But let’s talk about the rest, first. Outside of the twins, nobody has stood out. Christian Kyrou continues to eat healthy scratches, although he draw back in on Sunday. Artem Grushnikov has as well. Gavin White, Ben Berard, Matthew Seminoff, and Chase Wheatecroft have all been varying degrees of non-factors. That’s part of what makes Texas’ struggles unsurprising. Now only are they missing their starter, Matt Murray, but without Lian Bichsel — who is awesome — the blueline is massively exposed. Even the veterans, namely Derrick Pouliot and Alex Petrovic, are slowing down. (Thought not Pouliot’s production.)

Never fear, though. The twins are — though hopefully not for long — are here.

Stankoven’s entry + Bourque’s patience = Chef’s kiss

Stankoven and Bourque were quiet this weekend, but it’s still a joy each and every time I get to watch them. This power play is impossible not to marvel out. Here Stankoven begins the play with a quick entry, but it’s the puck handling work he achieves to bounce the puck back to the halfwall which then gets sent to the point that really stands out.

For casual fans: Stankoven is #11 starting from the defensive zone. Bourque is #22, swinging just in front of him to start the play.

Bourque then does an amazing job here, staying patient on the puck, but anticipating the forechecker, and ultimately getting the puck behind the net so that he could get in front. This type of sequencing is normal for the dynamic duo, but more importantly — it’s projectable. Yes, it’s a power play and thus makes it easier for them to command space, but it’s not like high level power play work is a walk-in-the-park either.

Bourque along the wall

Bourque in particular continues to impress me with his wall work. I know I talk about it all the time, but the reason it stands out is because Bourque is not a big player. Still listed at 5’10, and 185lbs, it’s rare to see a player his size look so confident, sturdy, and fluid in the corners (yet he looks like Nicolas Roy out there some times). The puck spends 80 percent of its time three feet from the boards, so that ability to play along the exterior is huge for not just his game, but his potential at the NHL level.

Bourque, #22, starts out in the right corner across from his teammate behind the net, Curtis McKenzie, #16.

This is also some great work from Stankoven, who manages to fool his opponent with his puck handling, allowing Bourque to eventually get open for the shot. This is also worth highlighting; Stankoven and Bourque don’t just have chemistry because their skills mesh well with each other, but because their puck support comes from early tracking, and anticipation of routes.

“Chemistry” is such a nebulous term, I almost don’t even like using it. For talking heads, it usually just means “these dudes often play next to each other” with little regard for what their interlinking skills actually are. Bourque and Stankoven have the perfect blend of skills to complement one another, but they do have that intangible too; that latent variable; those soft skills; that magic…

But also…

And it helps that they’re always working. I love the forechecking grit by Bourque here, and Stankoven’s area pass, which culminates in some net front chaos.

Bourque, #22, is the forechecker near the center of the blueline when this play begins.

Believe it or not this wasn’t even the highlight of the weekend. I clipped a full one minute-plus sequence where they brutalized Chicago in the offensive zone. It’s something I’ll save for later, as I’ve been meaning to do some audio/visual stuff for the two, and these long sequences are perfect for that.

To people who only have time for their boxscore, don’t fret. The two continue to be the only thing fueling this team. Granted, they have good goaltending when healthy, and some okay support (much of which has slowed down; especially Matej Blumel) but they have 83 points. Of course the Texas Stars run through them.

Stay safe

Hope you all are staying warm, and taking all the necessary precautions. Unless it gets worse here in San Antonio, expect the paid post for a super deep dive into the Dallas vs. LA matchup tomorrow morning.

*Apologies to my fellow Stars fans who also happen to be Cowboys fans. I promise this comment was made with the utmost boredom and apathy. When I was young I loved football. I collected cards, sought out Walter Payton highlight reels, and felt inspired to do more than nerd out over the sport after watching Icebox from Little Giants run game on all those grade school marks. Then I played football in high school and vowed never to watch, consider, or think about that four-year nightmare ever again. I’ve been able to sleep peacefully ever since.