Jamie Benn has picked up right where he left off last season after winning the Art Ross Trophy for the most points scored. He leads the NHL with 18 goals, is second in points behind Patrick Kane and seventh in assists (17). He also leads the Stars in points and game-winning goals (3). Eight of his 18 goals have come while the Stars have been on the man advantage. Jamie Benn also has two goals while the team has been short-handed this season.
Tyler Seguin is also off to a good start. He ranks fourth in the NHL with 13 goals, third in the league with 21 assists and ranks third in total points with 34. He leads the Stars with 98 shots. He has added three goals and eight assists for 11 points on the power play. Seguin and Jamie Benn have been a big reason for the hot start, but not the only reason.
The Stars defense has been playing decent this season. The team has been avoiding the up and down pond hockey style of play that they've been know to play in the past. There have been a few games where they've let up six goals or more, but they're playing team defense for the most part. They give up about 2.58 goals against per game, which is ranked 15th in the league. The Stars win 51.1 percent of faceoffs taken.
One reason for the improvement to the defense has been John Klingberg. Klingberg is evolving into a two-way defenseman in only his second year in the league. In 65 games, last season he had 40 points in 65 games played and in 24 games so far this season he already has 27 points. Klingberg has also been averaging 23:25 of time on ice per game. The defenseman plays both even strength and the power play. The Stars defense has been decent this season, but when they've broken down, the goaltenders have been there to stop the puck.
The Stars goalies have been doing a job of keeping the puck out of the net. Antti Niemi has played in 15 games while compiling a 10-4-0 record. He has a .908 save percentage to go with a 2.60 goals against average. The down side is that he has let in six or more goals three times so far this season. He is 4-1-0 in his last five games played.
Kari Lehtonen was the Stars full time goalie last season and he's been splitting the duties with Niemi this season. Lehtonen is 9-1-0 on the season with a .921 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average in 11 games this season. Lehtonen hasn't allowed more than three goals in any game that he has started this season. The goalie doesn't have any shutouts this year and he last one came against the Chicago Blackhawks last season. Both goalies need to do a better job while the team is short-handed since each has a save percentage under .900.
If the Stars want to avoid a slump then they'll have to keep up the offense and playing the team defense that they've been playing all season.
