Dallas Stars Shooting Less But Somehow Scoring More

On Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Stars may have played their most confusing game to date through the 2015-2016 season.

The Stars finished the final leg of their second four-game road trip yesterday in Detroit. After opening up the first period with a lightning-fast pace, the Stars took a 2-1 lead and held onto it for the remainder of the game. Though it was a lopsided performance through the second and third, they somehow survived and tacked on two empty net goals to take the 4-1 victory.

This marked the Dallas Stars third straight victory and improved their record to 12-3-0 with 24 points. They remain atop the Western Conference and sit second only to the Montreal Canadiens in NHL standings.

With these statistics, The 2015-2016 Dallas Stars are significantly outdoing the 2014-2015 Dallas Stars. At this point last year, the Stars were 5-6-4 with 14 points.

Part of the reason that last year’s Stars team was unsuccessful seems to be that they put too many shots on net. Yes, you read that right: they put TOO many shots on net.

It seems as though that is the new philosophy in the Dallas Stars’ twisted world: shoot less for more success. Last season, the Dallas Stars took an average of 31.2 shots per game. A majority of those games, they substantially outshot their opponents but still found a way to lose the game.

Some resorted to simply assuming that the Stars ran into a hot goaltender each time this pitiful scenario occurred. But that cannot repeatedly be the case by any logical standard, and so fans were forced to dig deeper. While they did endure a good number of skilled net-minders, the Stars simply put shots on net because it was the easy thing to do.

They did not always make the best shot choices and frequently threw it on net from an awkward angle or while being interfered with. As a result, they racked up the shot count. But the Stars still found a way to be the second highest scoring team in the NHL. The defensive and goaltending efforts were lacking and ultimately contributed to the Stars untimely downfall.

More from Blackout Dallas

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

This season is a different story though. The Dallas Stars are learning how to take less shots but still make them just as effective as last season. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Stars are averaging 30.9 shots on net. They are also averaging 3.57 goals per game, compared to a 3.13 average last season.

Not only that, but the Stars are also losing the shot battles. Out of the 15 games they have played this season, the Stars have been outshot in eight contests. Some of these games include deficits of 18 and even as much as 20. On Sunday, the Stars spent the final 40 minutes playing “not to lose”, which was their most popular mentality last year. The only difference was that the Stars look like they know how to succeed with that mentality this season.

Last year, the Stars would jump out to an early lead many a time and downshift into a defensive position. They would eventually give up a goal or two and fall behind for the remainder of the game. This season, it looks like the Dallas Stars have the ability to play with the “don’t lose” mindset and still succeed. But by the same token, it looks like they will rarely need it considering how easily the goals are coming.

Next: Stars Squeezing Out All They Can From Goaltenders

Overall, the Dallas Stars are more efficient than they were last year and scarier as a result. Their current record is 12-3-0 and it looks as though they are only getting started. The NHL would be smart to focus on them before it is too late.