This newly acquired veteran must have impact for Stars. How did he fare vs. NHL’s best?

Less than 10 minutes into the second period of the game, there was a new energy on Jim Montgomery’s second line.

Part of the reason for that energy Andrew Cogliano, one of the league’s fastest players, was wearing the No. 17 jersey.

On Monday, general manager Jim Nill sent Devin Shore to the Ducks in exchange for Cogliano.

Yes, Dallas fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the best team in the NHL at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.

But, aside from the 2-0 score, the most infantile returns on the deal were relatively positive

After months of streaky play, something had to give when it came to the production of the Stars’ offense.

Back in December, the owner already publicly lit up the team’s two best offensive players with some of the most colorful language imaginable.

The coach hasn’t held back lately, either.

But Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have since responded with quality production.

The secondary scoring, which was a chief concern among fans and pundits alike, has yet to materialize. But on Monday, 45 games into the schedule, the front office finally pulled the trigger on a deal.

Both players have seen a noticeable decline in ice time.

Shore has struggled to be consistent, recording just 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 42 games.

By comparison, Cogliano’s have numbers have been even worse. In 46 games, he’s tallied a paltry 11 points (three goals, eight assists).

But during his past three seasons in Anaheim, he’s recorded 102 points (37 goals, 65 assists). In his four seasons with the Oilers and roughly eight-and-a-half seasons with the Ducks, he’s notched 379 points in 912 games.

Like Shore, Cogliano has the ability to play wing or center (he played the latter alongside center Jason Spezza and winger Erik Condra).

And while the Toronto native might not be the same size as his trade counterpart (Shore is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. Cogliano is listed 5-foot-10 and 177 pounds), he’s been even more durable.

In his 12-year NHL career, he’s played in 912 out of 914 possible games.

And, until last season he owned the fourth-longest games-played streak in the NHL at 830 games (retired Montreal Canadiens (among other teams) winger Doug Jarvis owns the record at 964 games).

However, late in the year, a late hit resulted in the NHL handing Cogliano a two-game suspension.

His overall involvement on both ends Tuesday (particularly that speed), stood out.

But the Stars were just not able to find a way to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy. The visiting netminder stopped all 35 shots on the evening.

The dreadful Stars power plays from earlier this season also returned in dramatic fashion. In total, Dallas was a frustrating 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.

The Stars will need to take advantage of a Thursday night home tilt against the Los Angeles Kings (the team with the fewest points in the Western Conference).

Because on Saturday night, the Central Division-leading Jets come to town.

The good news for Dallas is that Winnipeg will be coming off a Thursday night road game against the Predators.

The bad news is for Dallas is that the last time they faced Winnipeg, they endured a rough 5-1 defeat.

This story was originally published January 15, 2019 at 10:45 PM.