8/31/2023 0 Comments Roope hintz![]() With Hintz back in the fold, Wyatt Johnston’s line went back to being the third unit for the Stars, and it was fantastic against Buffalo. They have the sample size and production, offensively and defensively, to make it enticing to keep them together. It’s ideal to have balanced scoring, but the results when Robertson, Hintz and Pavelski are on the ice together are undeniable. The top line with Seguin has been fine, but the way it rolls with Hintz in the middle is flat-out dominant. It will be interesting to monitor how DeBoer chooses to roll out his lineup in the coming games. “We didn’t have much going, and those guys tend to get a lot going. ![]() “That’s not brain surgery, is it?” DeBoer said. It felt good.”Īfter the game, when DeBoer was asked what led to the decision to reunite the line mid-game, he paused and smiled. Find the loose puck, get it out to Robo, and he did what he’s done all year. “We needed one and there’s a little urgency, for sure. “It just happened,” Pavelski said, laughing. It began with Hintz bringing the puck through the zone and sliding it to Gurianov, who fired a cross-ice pass to Marchment, who then found a cutting Hintz at the net. ![]() The highlight came midway through the second period when, in a 20-second window, the trio combined for multiple dangerous scoring opportunities. Like the top line 2.0, this line also had some good moments. Marchment-Hintz-Gurianov is a tough line /Xh2N3gjKbn Third, it reunited what had been the team’s top line in training camp when Robertson was holding out and wasn’t with the team. Secondly, Gurianov had a great game Saturday and earned a promotion in the lineup. For one, it would help reduce Hintz’s minutes, which is something DeBoer wanted to do as he eases Hintz back into game action. With Hintz returning after a two-week absence and Seguin playing well at the top line, it made sense to slot Hintz on the second line between Mason Marchment and Denis Gurianov. But Dallas fell into a lull for the middle frame and needed a line to step up, and none of the starting line combinations, including this top line 2.0, were able to do it. When the Stars were pressuring the Sabres, this line did its job. According to Natural Stat Trick, this line finished with the lowest expected goals for and the highest expected goals against on the evening, for a team-low expected goals percentage of 36.34 percent. It wasn’t glaringly bad, but it also wasn’t standout spectacular, as the line has been in some recent games together. Unfortunately, there were not enough stretches of sustained pressure by this combination Monday.
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