Dallas Stars Have Potential, But Still Too Early To Call

As the dying seconds of the third period ran out in Thursday night’s game between the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins, something became imminent: this 2015-2016 Dallas Stars team could be something very, very special.

After a 4-1 dismantling of the Penguins on Pittsburgh ice, the Stars boarded a plane home with a 4-0-0 road trip sweep. This included the two teams in both Florida and Pennsylvania. Not just that, but the Stars have officially swept the feisty Penguins for the second straight year and have a chance to do it to the Panthers as well come Saturday night.

After a disappointing 2014-2015 year that left Stars fans wondering if there truly was any legitimate hope for their hockey team, the Stars picked themselves up with new offseason additions and are pushing hard so far.

But Saturday night brought on something that the Dallas Stars had not experienced in two weeks: a loss.

The Stars welcomed the Florida Panthers to the American Airlines Center for their second and final meeting of the season. Just a week earlier, the Stars had defeated the Panthers in Sunrise by a final score of 4-2. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Stars were expected to string together another impressive win.

Instead, a feisty Panthers group came to town led by hot-handed Al Montoya who ended up putting on a clinic, stopping 33 of 35. The Stars, who were missing top-4 defenseman Jason Demers, could not seem to get the ball rolling on defense and lock down the Panthers offense. As a result, they allowed six goals to be pinned on their two goaltenders in a 6-2 rout.

For the second straight time against Florida, Kari Lehtonen was pulled early on in the game after giving up 3+ goals and starting the game sub-.800 in save percentage. Antti Niemi came in with a two-game winning streak on his back, but could not stop the bleeding as the goals continued to flow.

The Stars offense put 35 shots on net but could not find the goals that they usually have little troubling acquiring. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars defense looked like its old self from the 2014-2015 season, making bad plays and changes and sacrificing six goals as a result.

But this game was inevitable. It could have been less drastic, but the Stars were going to lose sooner or later. It is not common for a team to start a year that hot (just sitting here waiting for Montreal to lose), and the Stars just needed a reality check.

But while this reality check does help Stars fans accept that every team must take a loss every once in awhile, it also proves that the somewhat-delayed preseason hype is still infecting fans. This is a wonderful start by the Dallas Stars squad, but there is cause for delay and caution, considering 74 games still remain in the year.

While the Stars are proving to be strong on offense, defense, and in net, there is still the cliche that “anything can happen.” As painful as it is to think about, it is true. The Stars are trying to piece together a good year ahead that is headlined by a playoff run, but there is still plenty of season left to be played.

It is fantastic that they have figured out how to pull off a fast start, but they need to keep the ball rolling. Tonight was just an off night. It was not the first the Stars have had this year and it will most certainly not be the last. They just need to get back on the horse by Tuesday and put on an excellent performance against the ailing Anaheim Ducks. 6-2-0 is still impressive, but 7-2-0 is even better.

Next: Stars Five Game Win Streak Brought To End In Painful Fashion

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