Dallas Stars Winning Most Of Time, But Losses Are Brutal

It seems as though the Dallas Stars are still tempted to allow their 2014-2015 style of play into the equation this season. But so far, the results have been entertaining.

Before Monday night, the Dallas Stars were sitting with a record of 9-2-0 which was good enough for first place in the Central division and, more importantly, in the Western Conference. The month of October had officially ended and the Stars had most assuredly received the fast start they were looking all offseason for.

But their first game of November came with a hiccup and overall depression by the time it was all over. The Stars traveled north of the border to Toronto where an ailing 1-7-2 Maple Leafs team awaited them in fear. The Leafs struck first, and it was all downhill from there for Dallas. The Stars outshot Toronto 44-26 but ended up dropping the game 4-1.

Yes, every NHL team has to meet up with a hot goaltender every once in a while. All Dallas Stars fans should know that rather well considering all of the misfortunes they experienced last season due to the wall in the opposition’s crease.

But a 4-1 loss is rather devastating, even if the Stars did outplay them in most aspects of their game. This loss contributes to an overall theme that seems to be haunting the Stars throughout this year. That is that the Stars seem to either win or drastically lose their each game they play.

The Dallas Stars are 9-3-0 so far through the season and still control first place in the Western Conference. Each of their nine wins have been ones in which the Stars have fought hard in all aspects and earned truly earned the win. Sometimes they have been forced to comeback from a deficit, but they have stood tall and proved that they could be legitimate contenders this year.

But the losses are where things get interesting and confusing. Of each of the three losses the Stars have endured, each has been by a margin of at least three goals. Considering the Stars have fought for their wins and gained so many of them, it is confusing to see the Stars be outplayed so severely in these three games.

On October 10th, the Dallas Stars were riding a strong opening night win against Pittsburgh into Colorado for their first road game of the year. The Stars held a 3-1 lead at one point in the second period, but eventually found a way to collapse entirely and sacrifice five unanswered goals for a brutal final score of 6-3.

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The Stars would bounce back from this loss and build up a five-game winning streak. On the night of October 24th, the Stars returned home after achieving a perfect 4-0 record during a road trip to Florida and Pennsylvania. They were set to face off with the Florida Panthers, whom they had already beat just one week prior on the road. The Stars never truly seemed to get off the ground and were ravaged by the Panthers, 6-2.

The most recent loss came Monday night when the Maple Leafs buried the Stars 4-1 to start off Dallas’ newest road trip. The Stars truly did seem to outplay Toronto but simply ran into a hot goalie that shut down their offense, while the defense and goaltending were subpar.

So what is going on with the Dallas Stars? How does a team that overall looks like a Stanley Cup contender play and finish strong against most teams yet collapse and sink hard against a select few? Even further, how come these three teams all have sub-.500 records and seem like simple teams to best?

It’s an interesting scenario to say the least. But the Stars should not be worried. Every team has some off nights, and though the Stars seem to have a few VERY off nights, they are few and far between so far this year.

Next: A Look At The Stars 2015 November Slate; What Do They Have To Look Forward To?

The Dallas Stars face their first back-to-back situation tonight in Boston when they take on the Bruins. They will look to get back on the horse and reignite their winning ways.