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NHL on NBCSN: Stars keeping puck out of own net

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Blues fan and actor Jon Hamm recalls his favorite memories from the Blues' run to the Stanley Cup, explains what it means to the city of St. Louis, and reveals his favorite player of all time.

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Monday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

When you think of the Stars, you think of the offensive talent on their roster. Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov are three of the premiere players in the league when they’re rolling. When you look at their numbers this season, you’re left wondering why they’re not higher.

Here’s a list of their leading scorers this season:

Seguin: 11 goals and 36 points in 48 games
Radulov: 13 goals and 28 points in 45 games
Roope Hintz: 15 goals and 24 points in 41 games
Miro Heiskanen: seven goals, 24 points in 47 games
Benn: 12 goals and 23 points in 48 games

It’s balanced, but the offensive superstars aren’t putting up the numbers were used to seeing them rack up. It’s odd. But it’s clear that their style of play has affect on their offensive numbers.

When former head coach Jim Montgomery took over behind the bench, he put a greater emphasis on defensive structure and play without the puck. The Stars were never known to be a defense-first team, but that all changed. Now, under Rick Bowness, they’re playing a similar style.

Believe it or not, Dallas is first in goals against. They’ve given up 120 goals through 48 games. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who are second in that category, have given up 130 goals in 51 games.

“It’s just different. It’s just understanding that you can’t outscore teams anymore in the NHL,” Seguin told the Dallas Morning News. “Some teams are still trying to, but with my experience, it just doesn’t work. You need to be able to defend as a team. As a first-line centerman, you need to be able to shut down guys as well as produce.

“Really none of us are scoring at our normal pace. I don’t think there’s a guy on the roster that’s having one of his best offensive numbers. There’s many reasons that could be, but the biggest reason is just our identity, how we want to defend. We all would like more offense, which I think will come.”

Despite having some really talented teams, the Stars have won just one Stanley Cup in their history. That one cup was won back in 1999, so it’s been a while.

Last season, they were a goal away from knocking out the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the St. Louis Blues, in the second round. Unfortunately for the Stars, they allowed a double-OT goal to Patrick Maroon in Game 7 and that was the end of the campaign. It’s not easy to get over something like that, so they’ll do their best to learn from it.

Whether or not they take the next step this spring remains to be seen. The fact that the offensive players are doing the little things well is probably a good sign.

How far can they go?

Brendan Burke will handle play-by-play duties alongside analyst Pierre McGuire at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Tonight’s studio coverage will be hosted by Liam McHugh with Anson Carter and Keith Jones.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.