Dallas Stars Earn Their Stripes When Chips Are Down

After a tough 3-0 loss against the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars are learning to earn their stripes even when the outcome is not in their favor.

With their sixth regulation loss in the books, the Dallas Stars are starting to feel the ebb and flow that comes with being king of the hill. Starting the 15-16 season off strong, the Stars have nonetheless come back to reality, as it were, in the month of December. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Dallas Stars, with their 22-6-2 record and 46 points, still lead the NHL, and are also on top of the Central Division, with an eight point cushion between them and the St. Louis Blues in second place there. While the Dallas Stars are still on top after a disappointing loss, the Stars are refusing to let either their current position or their periodic collapses get under their skin.

Games like Saturday’s nights are the kind that the Stars need to learn to use to their benefit. Having played the majority of the opening of the season against Eastern Conference opponents, the Dallas Stars have to find a way to control the Central Division in a similar way.

Jamie Benn commented after Saturday’s loss that these are the sort of games that the Dallas Stars need to get more accustomed to. Since the Central is going to present them “a lot of tight games and good rivalries,” the Stars should take advantage of the work they’ve put into the season thus far and rise to the challenge of their own division.

And no one here is going to tell you that they can’t. But it wouldn’t be very sporting if there was no challenge involved, right? And no one here is going to tell you that won’t be a deciding factor for the rest of the season, either.

Saturday’s loss marks the first time that the Dallas Stars have been shut out this season. And against Central Division opponents so far, the Stars are 3-2-0, while their record against the Western Conference stands at 9-2-2.

Compare this to the Stars’ last season record against the Central: 8-14-7. Granted, while this is the complete picture from last season and we only have a quarter of the picture for this one, it would seem that the Dallas Stars are already on track to best last season’s performance against their own division.

So, with that being said, the pieces are all in place for the Stars to rise above the Central struggle and use that challenge to come out an even better team. Lindy Ruff mentioned that even with the disappointments of Saturday’s game, there are silver linings which confirm that the Stars are still only ascending.

Between the solid dependable of Antti Niemi and the leadership of Jamie Benn and his ability to inspire his team to get their heads back in the game, all the Dallas Stars really need to do is focus on technical aspects of play such as puck movement and defending.

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Lindy Ruff praised the team’s ability to respond well and get back in the game once they are trailing. The thing for the Stars now will be to elevate their game to a place where they can come out and begin a game with the same fight they present when they are losing in the second and third periods.

Ruff seems confident that this will come for the Dallas Stars, and I would agree. With only five games played against Central division opponents, it’s definitely not too late for the Stars to pick up the pace and get acclimated to the demands of their division. But, in the words of Jamie Benn, “You’ve got to be good in your own division…that’s something that has to change for us.”

Next: Dallas Stars Loss: Simple Fluke Or Sign Of Things To Come?

What aspect of the Dallas Stars’ play do you see needing to change the most if they are going to remain at the top of the Central Division?

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