Dallas Stars Must Find A Way To Win Out This Coming Week
By Josh Clark
With the All-Star break finishing up today, the Dallas Stars have a jam-packed week at home against some strong teams. At this rate, they are going to need to win out on the stretch.
Do you remember back in the elementary, middle, and high school days when there would be a fire drill and the entire school would have to go outside and wait to be called back in?
Chances are that was one of your favorite parts of a given school day. Though it wasn’t an extended break or anything, it still meant that about 15-20 minutes of class time would be taken up.
The All-Star break is the equivalent of a fire drill. It’s no Thanksgiving or Christmas break, nor is it a lunch break which is a daily occurrence, but it’s a rare occurrence that offers a chance to take a breather.
NHL competition ended on Thursday night as the 62nd annual NHL All-Star Game kicked off it’s weekend celebration in Los Angeles. After the NHL 100 celebration on Friday and the Skills Competition on Saturday, the All-Star Game helped wrap the weekend up on Sunday afternoon.
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Tyler Seguin was the lone Dallas Stars representative invited to the weekend festivities, and ended up leading the Central Division in points with two assists in their game on Sunday.
Seguin returned to Dallas and rejoined the Stars as they will take the ice and practice together for the first time since defeating the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night to pick up their first win since Jan. 17. The fire drill is over with and it’s time to get back to work.
The Stars opened up a massive six-game homestand last Saturday when they welcomed the league-leading Washington Capitals to town. They found a way to pick up a point after losing in overtime. Three nights later, they played the best team in the West, the Minnesota Wild. Another game against a top team, another overtime (though in this case it was the shootout) loss.
After going over a week without winning a game, the Dallas Stars rallied together on Thursday when they squeaked out a 4-3 win over the Sabres despite dominating the majority of the game.
So now the Stars have four of a possible six points on the homestand with three of six games in the rearview mirror. But the road doesn’t get any easier. In the upcoming week, Dallas will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Chicago Blackhawks. All three teams are currently still in the playoff hunt in their respective conferences, just like the Stars.
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As of Monday morning, the Dallas Stars sit three points out of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference and six points out of third place in the Central Division. There are no games scheduled for Monday night, so the first chance at movement in the standings will come on Tuesday night, which is when the Stars take on the Maple Leafs.
At this point, the Stars must win out in these next three games. Too many times this season has Dallas proven to be unable to win consistent games. They only own two win streaks this season. One was in mid-November and lasted two games, while the other came in late-December and lasted three games.
Other than those two instances, it’s been up and down all year. The Stars are 20-20-10 with 50 points. If they keep up this style of hockey, they will be staring down an early offseason in no time.
That’s why it is imperative that they win these next three games and start up the biggest win streak of their season. It would put them at four straight, which would also mean 10 of a possible 12 points on the homestand. That would surely get them into playoff position, right? After all, as long as the Stars keep winning, that’s all they have to worry about.
A four-game win streak would give the Stars plenty of momentum before heading north of the border for a two-game road trip. They have struggled on the road this season, so momentum would definitely be helpful.
Plus, Dallas would pick up two Central Division wins in the process. It would help give the Stars another step ahead of the Jets, who are trailing close behind in the playoff hunt.
If things go the Stars way this week, it would greatly boost their chances in the postseason race. The Dallas Stars have needed things to go their way for a while, and their record is the prime reason for this deficiency.
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A win-out is necessary. This homestand is only half over, but the entire homestand will help determine where the Stars go in the remainder of the season. Let’s see if the fire drill is enough to help motivate them to keep up the energy and push through the final half.