Gulutzan Reaches for a Familiar Pair as the Stars Test Their NHL Depth

Glen Gulutzan’s answer to Dallas’ latest defensive complication was practical: reunite two players who already know one another’s professional routine.

The Stars coach plans to recall Kyle Burroughs from AHL Texas and pair him with Trey Taylor, who previously played alongside Burroughs in the American Hockey League. Gulutzan outlined the plan Friday as Dallas prepared for Saturday’s game against Buffalo. It is a sensible NHL depth decision because the organization can avoid starting from a blank page with both players at once.

It is not proof that the pairing will handle NHL minutes well.

That is the important boundary around this move. Familiarity can reduce the introductory work involved in putting a defense pair together, especially when a lineup is changing quickly. It cannot guarantee clean decisions, effective defending or the kind of performance Dallas receives from a top-pair player.

Gulutzan is choosing a known professional relationship because the calendar offers little time for an elaborate experiment, not because an AHL partnership automatically transfers intact to the NHL.

Burroughs gives the plan some experience. He has played 201 NHL games and arrived in July through free agency. That makes him a logical recall for a team that needs another defenseman, while Taylor already has recent exposure to the NHL and an earlier working history with Burroughs.

The pairing does not ask Taylor to learn a completely new partner at the same moment Dallas asks him to keep adjusting to the league’s pace.

The roster pressure is real, although it should not be confused with a complete explanation for every defensive problem. Lian Bichsel is now considered week to week and is expected to be sidelined for roughly a couple of weeks. Miro Heiskanen is out Saturday against Buffalo; a Sunday return against Florida remains possible but is not assured.

Heiskanen has produced 11 points in 15 games while averaging 24:53, but replacing that number of minutes one for one is not the assignment Gulutzan has announced. The immediate task is to put six defensemen on the ice, not to pretend Burroughs can impersonate Heiskanen.

Thursday’s 8-3 loss to Winnipeg illustrates why the new pair deserves a sober evaluation rather than a dramatic one. Dallas led 2-0 after the first period. David Perron then restored a 3-2 Dallas lead in the second before Winnipeg scored the game’s final six goals.

The Jets took control of the decisive stretch, and it would be careless to pin all eight goals on the changing blue line.

Taylor had 18:17 of ice time Thursday. Reuniting him with a partner from Texas would at least give that next assignment a familiar element. Dallas still has to find out how the pair handles NHL opponents, but the plan gives Taylor something established to work with amid the changes around him.

There was even some evidence that Dallas’ defensemen were contributing beyond damage control. Harley and Lundkvist each had two assists, and the Stars finished with 33 shots to Winnipeg’s 30. The attacking contribution does not erase the six-goal finish, but it does keep the situation from becoming a simplistic story about missing bodies.

The proposed Burroughs–Taylor pair would join a group that still has to move the puck and support the forwards, not merely occupy two open places on the lineup card.

Dallas has four healthy defensemen from its opening-night group—Lindell, Harley, Lundkvist and Myers—while Taylor is already part of the current solution and Kyle Capobianco is on lower-body injured reserve. A familiar AHL pairing therefore offers Gulutzan a straightforward way to add a player without introducing two entirely separate adjustments. The choice is orderly. Its hockey value remains untested.

Burroughs and Taylor are expected to be reunited for an NHL assignment because they have done this part of professional hockey together before. That gives Dallas a cleaner starting point in the Stars’ latest depth test. If Gulutzan uses the pairing Saturday, their shifts will begin to show how effectively that familiarity can help at this level.

Sources

Dallas Morning News via Yahoo — Friday defensive update

NHL — Friday status report

NHL — Thursday box score

NHL — Thursday play-by-play

Dallas Stars — Frisco facility announcement