This Week Might Not Be An Easy One For Dallas Stars Fans

The month of December is officially in, and Dallas Stars fans are hoping it will counteract the horrific plague they suffered throughout November.

The Dallas Stars strung together a pitiful 5-8-1 record throughout the last 30 days, including an overtime and regulation loss in their last two contests, bringing their new record to an atrocious 9-10-5 with 23 points. This performance has lowered the Dallas Stars into the dark abyss of the Central Division, leaving them barely gripping onto sixth place ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, with nothing but one regulation/overtime win (ROW) separating the two teams. It does not look like it will be getting any easier for them to scale and ascend the standings to start off the month, either.

With the holiday season in full bloom, the Dallas Stars face quite the collection of hurdles in front of them. Tomorrow night, the Dallas Stars will be in session for the first time in December, taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs, after blowing a critical Game 7 against the Boston Bruins to end their 2012-2013 campaign and missing out on the postseason last year leaving many dedicated fans feeling irate and vexed, they have strung together a hot streak to begin this year, currently sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division with 27 points and a record of 12-8-3. With wins against Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Boston in their last ten games, they are 6-3-1 through the span. The Stars split the two-game schedule last year, losing in OT at Toronto on December 5th and then pummeling them in Dallas, 7-1 on January 23rd. Right now, the Maple Leafs look to be holding the momentum against a Stars team that was simply abused by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, 5-2. Anything is possible, but the Stars will need their A-game in full effect if they want to walk away with two points.

Just two days later, the Dallas Stars will be visiting Joe Louis Arena for a rivalry date with the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings, currently in third in the Atlantic Division with 33 points and a shining record of 14-5-5, have put together a monumental campaign so far, tallying 3.08 goals per game, as opposed to just 2.54 goals given away per game. They sit in eighth place in the goals for and ninth place in goals against throughout the entire NHL. The Dallas Stars, on the other hand, tack on 2.91 goals per game, good enough for ninth place in the league, and give away 3.33 goals per contest, good enough for dead last in the league. The Stars split two contests with the Wings last year, winning in a 4-3 OT thriller at The Joe back on November 7th, followed by a horrific 5-1 beating that the Red Wings laid out on January 4th at the AAC. If Toronto seemed hard enough, Detroit will prove to be even more of a challenge.

The Stars return home on another two day break before facing off with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens trump the latter teams mentioned and sit tied for first in the Atlantic Division with 34 points and a record of 16-7-2. Sergei Gonchar will be making his first presence in a Montreal uniform at the AAC since he was traded for former Canadiens forward Travis Moen. This Montreal club is fearless and can withstand just about anything tossed at them. Their goals for total rests at 2.60 per game, while their goals against is close by at 2.52. Leading the Atlantic Division is no small task, and the Canadiens have a rare combination of stout offense mixed with brilliant defense that is hard to get by. The Stars, who have managed well on the offensive side of the puck while struggling severely on the defensive side, will have their hands more than full.

This schedule is not panning out to favor the Dallas Stars current situation, and it will be a difficult week to get through with a lot on the line.

If the Stars manage to drop all three contests, the remainder of December will become a catch-up game for the team that will assuredly sit at the bottom of the division by a few points. But if the Stars can win two or three of the contests, many heads that had turned away after the Colorado loss will complete the rotation and come back to a team that will have hopped up a spot or two.

It all relies on the Stars effort, which was clearly absent in the Avalanche game where they were outshot 47-24. No back-to-backs will phase them, so the effort will be expected.

Will they be able to grab the wheel and turn their preseason expectations back into a reality?

Leave your comments and questions below, and as always, thanks for reading! Go Stars.