Dallas Stars Slowly Inching Down Central Division Ranks

The Dallas Stars are struggling out of the gate in 2016. The main problem is that while they’re slumping, other Central Division teams are succeeding. As a result, they are moving closer to the bottom half of the division standings.

It’s a scary time in Dallas. Scary may even be an understatement at this point. Let’s just go ahead and call it red alert.

The Dallas Stars have suffered a somewhat inevitable start to the 2016 calendar year. After finishing the year of 2015 off with the most points in the entire NHL at 59 points. Since then, they have participated in seven games, yet have only come out with four possible points.

The Stars are 1-4-2 to start off January and cannot seem to find their consistency. After such an unbelievably virtuous start to the season, they are falling hard and fast.

The 2015-2016 season began with plenty of questions for the Dallas Stars. Would they be able to rise from the ultimately depressing season that was 2014-2015 and come back with more power? Would the veteran additions that GM Jim Nill made during the offseason to their offense, defense, and goaltending make an exponential difference? Did the Stars have the necessary tools to return to the NHL postseason?

It’s safe to say that they answered these questions quickly and effectively. The Stars bolted out of the early season gate, winning 17 of their first 21 games. Their offensive flow was almost unfair, their defensive chemistry was just right, and their goaltending tandem was almost unsolvable.

And now it’s all just vanished. It’s not positive on where it went yet, or when it will return. But as of right now, the Dallas Stars are in a hole and still trying to find their way out.

This hole could end up burying them in regards to the standings. While the Stars have been struggling to find their legs, the rest of the Central Division has been toughening up.

The Dallas Stars currently have 63 points in the standings, and have long since lost their claim to the first place spot in the NHL that they once held. But getting first place is not the sole goal. Simply getting into the postseason is where the Dallas Stars are aiming, which is exactly what they should be doing. But there are some problems with their current play in terms of where they may end up getting demoted to.

Any everyday NHL fan can state without a doubt that the Central Division is hands down the toughest division in hockey. The Central is always sending the maximum number of teams to the postseason and always seems to have the most points of any other division in the NHL. Seven powerhouse teams who continually run the table against their opponents. It’s quite the challenge.

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Not only have the Dallas Stars lost their lead in the NHL, but they have also forfeited their hold on the Central Division. The Chicago Blackhawks, who have won 11 straight games, now have a three point lead on the Stars for first place in the division and in the Western Conference as a whole. These are definitely troubling times.

But that’s not all. The Stars are slowly becoming closer and closer to entering third place in the division and possibly even slipping into the wild card spots.

While the wild card is still a decisive 11 points away, the Stars are only a mere four points away from falling into third place in the Central. The St. Louis Blues, who are 3-1-1 in their last five games, are slowly creeping up towards the Stars. Dallas does have a wild card in their favor, considering they have played two less games than St. Louis. But that was their excuse when Chicago was ascending the standings, and now they have almost broken even.

There is a problem, and everyone knows it. The Dallas Stars are slowly piecing it back together and hopefully have it in shape by Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.

It’s not a dire scenario just yet, but something definitely needs to be done before it gets any more threatening. The Central will not get any easier and will not be forgiving.

Next: Stars' Worst Habits Proving To Be Detrimental

The Stars have proven that they are battle-tough this year. They just need to find that strength once again.