On Saturday night, the Chicago Blackhawks stretched the Dallas Stars defense and avoided the forecheck better than any other team during the current winning streak. To do that, they moved the puck quickly, and when they did, they hit tape on sticks.
It’s something that the Stars haven’t had to deal with lately, and in prior years, when Chicago has stretched out the defense in a similar fashion, they have been able to get breakaways that led to goals. That didn’t happen as much this time, and it speaks volumes to the progress that Dallas has made against longer passes this year.