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

The Dallas Stars were not their regular selves on Saturday night as they dropped 3-0 to the Blues and were shutout for the first time this year. Was this loss a fluke, or could more trouble be on the way?

Saturday night clearly just was not the Dallas Stars night. Which is strange, considering their fans have become accustomed to every night being their night.

After holding out for an impressive and gritty win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night at home, the Stars hit the road for a back-to-back. They traveled to St. Louis where they faced the Blues in a divisional matchup Saturday night. This game could have gone much better.

While no one on the Stars team necessarily played an awful game, the Stars just could not get the ball rolling and fell 3-o for their second divisional loss of the year. They are now 3-2-0 in Central Division play, which means a third of their regulation losses this season come from their division.

The game was just one that you never want to see, though every team has to see one like it sooner or later. Nothing went right for the Dallas Stars. The defense had three bad breakdowns in their own zone that all resulted in goals. Antti Niemi made some amazing saves but could not come up with the extra one off of the defensive turnover. To top it all off, the NHL’s best offense was stymied by G Jake Allen in a 26-save shutout.

This loss comes on the heels of two high-intensity wins that were a bit too close for comfort. The Stars were facing two low-performing opponents at home in Philadelphia and the Carolina Hurricanes. They surrendered a four-goal lead to the Hurricanes on Tuesday, but pulled out the win with 18.5 seconds left on a Patrick Sharp slap shot. On Friday, the Stars heavily outplayed the Flyers, yet only scored two goals with a goaltender in net for a 3-1 final.

It seems like Saturday night was where the Dallas Stars finally got what was coming to them. This now puts the Stars at a record of 3-1-2 for the month of December, which is their worst performance in a six-game span this season. As encouraging as that is, could this loss be the start of somewhat of a decline for the Stars?

Now let’s not forget, the Dallas Stars are the best team in the NHL. In other words, it was not easy to get to the spot they currently hold control of. It took a lot of perseverance and hard work to get where they are, and they put it all in.

But the month of December has not been entirely fruitful to them. But this loss was the ultimate frustration. The Stars just could not get any area of play working for them. It’s not even that they were outplayed, just one or two missteps ended up burying them. Meanwhile, the Blues played a perfect game and had not a worry in the world. December 26th and 27th will be very interesting when the Stars and Blues play out a home-and-home series.

But does the Stars “slump” these last few games mean that there is something ahead to be worried about?

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More than likely, this game was just a fluke. Allen was nothing short of stellar in the crease and sedated at least three high-energy chances by the Stars offense. Not to mention, the Stars were on the second night of a back-to-back that involved traveling.

The Stars will need to get used to games like these. Some nights, the opponent is just ready for anything and everything. The goalie goes on lockdown and allows nothing by. You make one or two errors as every team does and they end up costing you two points.

The Dallas Stars are still number one in the NHL and have a three point lead on second place with a game in hand. They still completely control their own destiny, and these games just happen.

For everyone having a colossal meltdown, it’s going to be alright. The world is not ending. The Stars are not on the borderline from being knocked out of the playoff race. They are still trying to regroup after receiving some players back from injury and become one solitary unit once again.

Next: Stars Cannot Get Ball Rolling, Drop 3-0 To Blues

They have yet to lose back to back games also, so they still have that going for them. 22-6-2 with 46 points is still a pretty impressive record. So take it down a notch, Stars fans. It’s all going to be okay. At least it looks that way. Stay tuned.