One of the most pleasant surprises for the Stars through the first three games of the 2011-12 regular season has been the strong play of Sheldon Souray. No one questioned whether the 35-year-old defenseman still possessed a heavy shot. The question was what else he would bring to the table.
So far at least, Souray has arguably been the Stars' best defenseman. He has not been a defensive liability at all to this point. playing three solid two-way games and adding a bit of physicality to the mix as well as tallying three assists at the offensive end of the ice. Of course, it is still very early in the season and the jury will be out on Souray for awhile, but he deserves credit for his play so far when many had written him off entirely.
Part of the reason why Souray is off to a quick start is that he is reportedly healthier than he has been in several seasons. But there is also a ton of motivation to show that he still belongs in the NHL. Getting waived and sent to the AHL will do that for a player who twice recorded 23 or more goals in a season.
Souray's defensive problems have been bandied about for years but, again, it must be said that he has been good with and away from the puck in both the preseason and regular season to date. He's lost a few races to lose pucks but that's to be expected. The more important thing is that he has found ways to recover, and has used his size effectively.
As for Souray's cannon of a shot, he's kept shots low and accurate. On Monday, Loui Eriksson's deflection goal that tied the Phoenix game in the final half minute of the third period came off a Souray shot. In Saturday's loss in Chicago, Steve Ott's goal was also a deflection of a Souray shot, which temporarily gave the Stars at least faint hopes of a comeback with half of the third period remaining. Souray was initially credited with both goals until subsequent replays revealed the tip-ins.
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While Souray has done well so far, there is zero doubt that Kari Lehtonen has been the Stars' most valuable player through his first two starts. The big Finn has been locked in since the start of the preseason. He's always in the right position and is making some extremely difficult saves look routine.
With Lehtonen, you always cross your fingers that his health holds up (as it did last season with the exception of some back spasms in December). If it does, the Stars' workhorse goalie will give them a chance to steal games the way they did on Monday against the Coyotes.
Moving forward, however, the Stars cannot afford to have too many nights where they only keep their feet moving for about 25 of 60-plus minutes of play. That's not going to work out in the end very often, even if Lehtonen keeps the team in striking distance. The Stars have a highly underrated third line (when everyone is healthy) but that line cannot be better than the Ribeiro and Benn lines too frequently if the Stars are to come away with two points in regulation or overtime.
Dallas Stars Blogger • 
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