Dallas Stars go into home opener under Glen Gulutzan still looking to compete more after 2-0 start

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DALLAS (AP) — Stars coach Glen Gulutzan has repeatedly said that he wants them to compete more in every aspect. That message was prominent even after Dallas won its first two games on the road against division opponents it also beat in the playoffs last season.

The Stars finished practice Monday, the day before their home opener, with players going through a 1-on-1 drill battling for pucks. Pairs of players were spread out over the ice at the same time, with even the two goaltenders going head-to-head, as one teammate tried to keep the other from the puck.

“It’s a little race off the wall and compete at the end of the day,” Gulutzan said of the drill with three reps of 15-20 seconds each. “Some of the messaging today was when all talent becomes equal on both sides, it comes down to hand-to-hand combat.”

Dallas' home opener Tuesday night against Minnesota will be Gulutzan's first behind the Stars bench at American Airlines Center since the 2012-13 season finale. That was a couple of weeks before he was fired by then-new general manager Jim Nill, the same GM that brought him back as head coach in July after the Stars finished all three of their seasons under Pete DeBoer with losses in the Western Conference Final.

"He's brought a lot of really good energy and a really good message to our group," veteran forward Matt Duchene said of Gulutzan. “We're just going to keep getting better. We're at square one right now. ... We can win a lot of games, but we want to improve in some areas. And he's going to help us for sure.”

While the Stars won 5-4 at both Winnipeg and Colorado, those were much different games.

The Jets were down 5-1 when they scored two short-handed goals on the same Dallas power play in the third period. Two nights later in Colorado, the Stars were outshot 39-22 and bailed out by goalie Jake Oettinger's 35 saves before Mikko Rantanen had the deciding tally in a shootout against his former team.

“It definitely feels probably feels more like we’re 1-1 than 2-0, but we’re 2-0,” Duchene said. “So we've got to make sure that we take that mulligan and run with it, and not give it back at some point.”

Gulutzan said the Stars were a “very good” team for 50 minutes at Winnipeg, but didn't have their legs at Colorado in a win he credited to Oettinger.

“We're going to have a game this year where we’re going to out-shoot, out-chance an opponent and not come out with anything. That’s just the way the league is,” Gulutzan said. “The hockey gods even these things out. So we’re going to have a game like that, and all we have to do is rewind to Colorado and OK, now we're even."

Seven players have already scored for the Stars. Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson both have two goals.

“What I am learning is that we don’t need much to score. We have a bunch of guys that don’t need much to score,” Gulutzan said. “But what we need to do is keep pushing the territory battle into our favor. Because if you just counter-punch like we did the other night. ... If we gain more territory with the players we have and win the territorial battle, it’ll even increase how good we can be.”

Johnston, the 22-year-old whose first three NHL seasons were under DeBoer, said all has been good so far in the adjustment to Gulutzan.

“I've liked what we've done,” Johnston said. “I like how he's kind of prepared us for the start of the year.”

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