Dallas Stars: A Strong Offense Is in the Stars’ DNA

The Dallas Stars need to focus on the offensive power they already have as they start the new season.

A few years ago, the Dallas Stars had an impressive offensive game that turned heads around the league, but they’re struggled the past few years.

General George S. Patton was one of the greatest military minds in American history. He led the allies to victory in North Africa and repelled the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He was criticized by his colleagues for being too bullish, but his tactics were successful.

The idea that the best defense is a good offense was perfected through Patton. In sports, it has also been said that defense wins championships. So, if offense is the best defense and defense wins championships, then doesn’t the offense win championships?

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Both of these ideas depend purely on what tools are available. The Stars have an interesting mix of tools that coaches have tried to work with and have had varying results.

To start with, neither offensive-minded nor defensive-minded coaches have won a championship with the current or similar rosters, but there have been seasons of success. How do the Stars regroup themselves as the season nears?

Here’s Where They Went Wrong

From where I stand, Hitchcock’s style did not work for the Stars. Did he make a square peg fit in a round hole? Yes, he did. In order to do that, you lose the corners of the square, in which case it is no longer a square. In the same way, the Stars lost some of their identity when they transitioned to a defensive team. The best example of this is at the end of last season during Bishop’s injury.

Josh Clark said in an article about Lehtonen’s play:

"Since Bishop went down, Lehtonen has been the undeniable no. 1 starter. In that brief span, he has a .935 save percentage and has given up seven goals in four appearances. But his record sits at 1-2-1."

Six regulation goals allowed in 4 contests is solid, but losing 3 of those games is sad. That record was achieved through stellar goaltending rather than a lock down defense. The offense is much better than what they are putting out and coaching had quite a bit to do with it. That being said, the objective to keep the other team from scoring was met, even though to win, the Stars still needed to score.

This is How the Stars Were Meant to Play

Lindy Ruff had a much more fitting style of play for the Stars, even if his record was mediocre. In Lindy’s first season with the Stars, the commentators described the Stars as mosquitoes. They played to their advantages. That is what I want to see out of the Stars when they retake the ice. They have the strong offensive tools that made them the best in the west three years ago. I hope to see a rebirth of that great offense.

The Stars have a lot of talent and the ability to conform to new tactics, but that does not mean that any style is best. For the Stars, the idea that the best defense is a good offense holds true. If they want to once again be number one in the west they need to take a page out of Ruff’s play book without completely rejecting Hitchcock’s coaching.