Stars’ stars lead NHL playoff upset
Allen: Berated in December, cheered now
Three days after Christmas, Stars president Jim Lites shocked the hockey world by delivering an expletive-laced public shaming of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
He called his two stars “(expletive) horse (expletive)” in an interview with two Dallas-based reporters.
“We are a stars-driven league, and our stars aren’t getting it done,” Lites said. “It’s embarrassing.”
He added, “People hated playing against Tyler Seguin — they don’t anymore.”
Lites also said Benn “stirs the drink” but it wasn’t happening.
Almost four months later, it’s difficult to understand how that event took place.
Benn, Seguin and linemate Alexander Radulov are among the primary reasons the Stars are moving to the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for only the second time in 11 years.
The line created the overtime goal by defenseman John Klingberg, which gave the Stars a series-clinching 2-1 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. Benn made the hit that knocked the puck loose and Seguin’s and Radulov’s passing set up Klingberg for a winning shot from the left-wing circle.
This is the first time in 11 years Dallas fans have witnessed a playoff clincher at home.
The Seguin line produced seven goals and 11 assists in the six games. The Golden Knights’ line of Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Mark Stone has been the talk of the playoffs, but the Dallas trio has been just as dominant.
Seguin and Benn combined for 15 shots in Game 6, and their line combined for 83 shots in the series.
Benn hit the post twice in Game 6 and seemed monstrous at times. Seguin says Benn has been playing “like a beast.” One of Benn’s posts came in overtime after Seguin stole a puck in the offensive zone.
As the Stars prepare to meet the Blues in the second round, the Stars’ top line looks unstoppable. Three division champions have already been knocked off, and the fourth, the Capitals, face a Game 7 Wednesday against the Hurricanes. With the playoffs looking wide open, the Stars have to believe that the Seguin line, coupled with Ben Bishop’s stingy goaltending and the momentum they’ve created, has to give them a chance to reach the Finals.
Mats Zuccarello’s arrival has also made the Stars’ No. 2 line more dangerous, preventing opponents from loading up against the No. 1 line.
That takes us back to late December when Lites used scorched earth tactics to fire up his stars.
Public tongue-lashing of players is uncommon in the NHL. You don’t hear coaches and general managers criticizing their stars through the media. The NHL way is to keep everything “in house.”
Team presidents also don’t usually talk about what happens on the ice. So why did Lites do it?
Everyone in the organization was disappointed by how poorly Benn and Seguin were playing, and meetings with them had failed to fix the problem. Lites has always been an animated executive and he knew he could get their attention.
The decision to criticize them wasn’t born out of frustration. It was born out of urgency. The Stars’ brass felt like if Seguin and Benn didn’t get rolling, then the team wouldn’t make the playoffs.
Seguin and Benn acknowledged they weren’t playing well, but they didn’t much like the public attack. Also, the tactics weren’t well received around the league.
But did it work? It’s impossible to know, even though Seguin and Benn began to pick up their game in the second half of the season. Maybe that would have happened anyway. After all, these are elite players. All the Stars care is that their two stars led them into the second round.
It’s doubtful, however, that criticizing your best players when they are slumping is going to become an NHL trend.