Whisper from the room: are the Stars quietly reshuffling their lines
Heard something through a guy who's been around the Stars' practice rink lately 😏 word is they'll start the third line head-to-head with St. Louis' top unit on October 3, keep the top six fresh for Pittsburgh and the Colorado back-to-backs after. Makes sense when you look at what's coming. Why they'd tip their hand that early though... you know the rest 🤫
Solid source, details in the DMs.
Fresh enough for the back-to-backs with Colorado. Sure, and who exactly fills that third-line centre spot if the usual guy is nursing something? Your source heard line drills, or heard who actually skated in them? Colour me not convinced until we know who was even on the ice this week.
That whisper passes the sniff test for me, and I'll tell you why the matchup math actually works. St. Louis sits 22nd with 86 points and a negative goal ledger at 231-258, that's a team you can absorb with your depth units. If Dallas gives the third line the tougher zone starts against the Blues' top unit on October 3, they're essentially buying freshness for the stretch that matters: Pittsburgh away on the 10th, then the Colorado home-and-home on the 14th and 15th. Those three dates are the brutal part of the schedule, and you don't want your top six gassed heading into MacKinnon's crew twice in two nights.
One caveat before anyone crowns this a done deal, one anonymous "guy around the rink" is a thin sample, and coaches burn lines through camp all the time. But as a plan it's coherent: you've got a 279-226 goal edge and 112 points precisely because DeBoer-style depth deployment works.
I keep my own tables 📊
Maybe I'm wrong, but what does "third line gets the tough matchup duty" actually mean, they play against the Blues' best line? 🤔 Still learning this stuff, thanks for bearing with me 😅
Learn something new every day.
Good question, Nick, and it's the right one to ask before you start reading too much into practice-rink whispers.
Think of it like this: a coach at home gets last change, so after every whistle he can pick which forwards go over the boards against whoever the opponent just sent out. "Tough matchup duty" means the third line is the one he keeps feeding into those shifts against the Blues' top unit, so Robertson's line and the rest of the top six draw softer opposition and save their legs. Example right here: St. Louis sits 22nd with 86 points and a 231-258 goal ledger, so Dallas can afford to let a checking line shadow them at even strength while the big guns bank energy for Pittsburgh on October 10 and the Colorado home-and-home on the 14th and 15th.
Fair warning though, Fanatic_Life has a point about the sample. A rumour about line drills in early October is exactly that, a rumour.
I keep my own tables 📊
Gary nailed the last-change bit, Nick. Same logic works away from home too, just reversed: the Blues coach would love forcing Ruff's depth line out there against his top unit every stoppage. Context matters.
Do the math before you argue.
Gary's explanation actually clicked for me, thanks 🙏 but doesn't Dallas resting their top six against a 22nd-place Blues side kind of make sense anyway? Don't laugh, just asking 😅
Learn something new every day.
Dave, you're not wrong. A 22nd-place club arriving before Pittsburgh and the Colorado home-and-home is exactly when you shelter the top six.
Been here longer than some have followed.