Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold? Stars Continue Riding the NHL’s Hottest Player

In this new weekly segment, we will go over who is hot and who is cold from the previous week of play. 

Last week, Dallas went 1-2-1, with a thrilling comeback over Chicago, a pair of losses to the Colorado Avalanche, and an overtime defeat in Rick Bowness’ return to Dallas with the Jets. 

Who is Hot?

Jason Robertson

I know…duh, right? Well, Jason Robertson has been not only the Dallas Stars best player, but arguably the best player in the NHL. 

After earning First Star of the Week honors a couple of weeks prior, Robertson was unstoppable in four contests and earned the honor once again. 

The 23-year-old kicked things off with a two-goal effort and the late tying goal to force overtime against Colorado. And that would be the story for the next two games as well. Robertson scored twice in three straight games, and even scored another goal that was overturned by video review. 

His second goal on Friday against Winnipeg not only brought the Stars back to even but also leapfrogged him over Connor McDavid and into first place in the NHL with 18 goals. 

Robertson added an assist on Saturday in Colorado to finish with six goals and eight points.

The streak that Robertson is on right now is incredible. With his assist on Saturday, his point streak was extended to 15 games. That is good enough for sole possession of the Dallas Stars record and puts him just five games back of Brian Bellows (20) for the franchise record. 

Jamie Benn 

The ‘Bennaissaince’ is on in Big D! 

Jamie Benn has defied the haters and put on a show in the month of November. Last week, the captain added two goals and two assists to bring his total up to 10 goals and 24 points. No goals were bigger than his 'put the team on my bacl' power-play goal that sparked the comeback against Chicago. 

That performance boosted him above Roope Hintz for third on the club. Only Robertson has scored more goals for the Stars than Benn. I do not think anybody expected that when the season began. 

It appears that Benn has found a home on the Stars third line with Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston. That trio is far from a checking line, as all three players scored during the week. 

Ty Dellandrea

Speaking of Benn’s linemates, Ty Dellandrea has been playing some excellent hockey. 

Dellandrea has been one of the nice surprises all season long. The mostly defensive forward from past has blended in some offensive skill and turned into a very effective player on both ends of the sheet. 

The 22-year-old recorded a point in the first three games last week. His biggest was certainly the late game-tying deflection goal during the ridiculous comeback on home ice vs the Hawks. He now has three goals and 12 points overall. 

Dellandrea has been putting in work along with veteran Joe Pavelski early before practice. Working on tips, finishing in tight, and all of the little nuances that make Joe so lethal has given Dellandrea a new confidence to go with his all-out effort, hustle, and penalty killing. 

Because of his work and performance, he has seen his ice time jump to nearly 15 minutes per game. 

Who is Cold? 

Tyler Seguin

As with Benn, Tyler Seguin surprised some people this season. But as of late, the center has struggled to find the back of the net.

Seguin was held to just three assists last week, and now has only two goals in his last 18 games. With linemate Mason Marchment also sparsely finding the twine, the line has not been nearly as dominant as they were early in the season. 

The return of Denis Gurianov from injury seems to have given this trio a boost but Pete DeBoer has made it clear that he believes they have far more to give. 

Roope Hintz 

The high-flying Finn was kept quiet last week. After missing a game due to injury, Hintz went scoreless in the next four. 

When looking at his two assists, that can be seen as a success. But when Hintz has shown his more than point-per-game potential, that is not the case.

Luckily, Robertson has picked up the slack here with his six goals. But for Dallas to have success, they need Hintz flying up the ice and creating chances, and that did not happen often. 

With his recent drop in production, Hintz now sits at eight goals and 24 points overall. 

Wyatt Johnston

Let’s be honest. If 19-year-old Wyatt Johnston is even making an impact at the NHL level, it is quite an accomplishment. 

However, the Stars have higher expectations for the OHL superstar. 

Johnston recorded only one goal and held a minus rating in two of the four games. With how well his linemate (Benn) has been playing, it is hard to believe that Johnston has not been racking up the points himself. 

In fact, it is surprising to see that he only has two assists all season. In 68 games in the OHL last year, Johnston racked up 124 points, 78 of which were assists. We know the kid is a playmaker, we have seen it. 

But as with any young player, you expect to see some plateaus. DeBoer talked about it with Matej Blumel and I believe we are seeing it now with Johnston. 

Time will tell whether it is a brief skid or something more but either way, the Stars coaching staff has been excited with how the kid has played this season.