Glen Gulutzan names big change Stars made to achieve 5-game win streak originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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With the Colorado Avalanche looking more beatable as of late, the Central Division could still be up for grabs. One of the biggest risers as of late? Well, it’s none other than the Jason Robertson-led Dallas Stars. With their 4-3 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets, they have now gotten their fifth-straight win in the past games. It might be all because of this big change that Coach Glen Gulutzan unveiled.
Stars burn bright before break
The first period between the Stars and Jets was quite a toss-up. Neither team actually pulled ahead and their defenses along with goaltending were doing a lot of work. Things started to change during the second period. Robertson started the assault on the Winnipeg defense with a goal 48 seconds after the period started. Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti then lashed back to give the Jets the lead.
At the third period, Mikko Rantanen took no chances and tried to shut the doors on the Jets. His goal at the 12:17 was thought to be the game-decider before Logan Stanley found the back of the net. The Stars faithful did not have to worry long though because Thomas Harley immediately got the goal to end the game just two minutes into overtime.
Coach Gulutzan was clearly over the moon with their ascent in the Central Division to challenge the Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. He even unveiled one thing the Stars did which led to these five wins, via Taylor Baird of NHL.com.
“I think you can see that we’ve had meetings here about we lost a bit of our edge and our physicality over the last stretch. We had it early and then when you get out to a good start and then after Christmas you think it’s going to come easy, but that’s not the way it works. We had to get that back and we’ve got it back in the last three games. It makes a difference in our play,” the Dallas head coach said.
The Stars are now just two points away from usurping the Wild for the second seed in the Central Division. Robertson and Co. can notch that spot before the Olympic break if they bury the St. Louis Blues early on while maintaining momentum. Will Dallas be able to do it or will they have to wait after the Milano Cortina games?
