What do the Dallas Stars say to pressure? The more, the merrier- and as soon as possible, please.
There is a certain phenomenon that exists in the hockey world, and more specifically, within the Central Division. Dallas Stars fans everywhere have reported strange, mirage-like sightings that take them by surprise and often result in symptoms such as elevated heart rate, inability to control outbursts of emotion (most often of the loud variety), and a sudden onset rush of pride followed immediately by cynicism and fear.
I’m talking, of course, about the Dallas Stars’ presto-change-o brand new team overnight effect, of which there has been a drastic upswing in documented cases as of late. But the most interesting thing about this phenomenon is that it occurs at the most unlikely of times.
There was a near epidemic of reported the Dallas Stars effect near the beginning of the season, occurring nearly every time a keystone player was sidelined with a long-term injury. It happens mysteriously and highly often as well whenever the Stars face off against a team significantly higher than they are in the standings.
And of course, the one situation in which we are all most familiar with this strange and otherworldly experience: when, in the pursuit of a Stanley Cup playoff spot, the Dallas Stars find themselves more lost than a ball in high grass.
Dallas Stars
And this season has propelled them (largely of their own doing, of course) into higher-grassed territory than ever. Even after sinking further in the standings and trading off some players that nobody really wanted to see go, the rebound effect that the Stars are known to produce has been present, but dim at best.
It’s nowhere near what their response was in the last fourth of their 2014-15 season, when all hope was lost but they forged ahead with surprising tenacity instead, stringing along a surprising amount of wins. It was ultimately not enough to earn a playoff spot, but did earn some Stars (aka Ja.Benn, aka in case you’d forgotten, the only Benn left on the team) some pretty impressive individual accolades.
But this season, the Dallas Stars have strung together a 2-1-0 record since the trade deadline, when all that unspeakableness went down. But even with an improving record, it’s clear that the Dallas Stars effect is not in full swing.
Even last night, after what was admittedly a whopper of a win against the Capitals- in which the Stars spoiled a 15 game winning streak for the Caps and handed them only their 6th home loss of the whole season, and their first one of this year- was a bit of a struggle.
The Stars went from a 3 point lead to a precarious 1 point one in all of 25 minutes, and if the truth is told, they owe the win in its entirety to Kari Lehtonen‘s jaw dropping 43 saves.
So it’s clear that while the Dallas Stars need a lot of pressure to hulk out into collective beast mode, after everything they’ve been through this season, the pressure somehow still isn’t enough to get a unified and magically successful winning streak out of them.
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Historically, though, it’s been true that high pressure, this oh so mythical of magic potions, has affected certain players more than others. Again, think back to the playoff push of 14-15 that was so amazing and tear-inducing to watch.
The player that acted as the catalyst for most of it and who came away with the Art Ross to prove it? Jamie Benn (who in case you’d forgotten again, is sadly still the only Benn left on the team).
This season, we see it coming out for sure in Kari Lehtonen, and Jamie Benn has been coming around to it also. However, with the offense as handicapped as it’s been this season, I find it unlikely that we’d see similar offensive runs to rival that of desperate end-of-season-pushes past (and if you’re curious about why that’s been the case for the offense, you can keep reading here).
So, pressure. Pushing down on me, pressing down on you– but mostly on the Dallas Stars. Looking at their trends from past seasons, the greater the pressure, the greater the rebound effect, and the greater the Stars turned out in the end because of it.
Like pearls from the gritty polishing of the oyster, like violently-made diamonds. It would follow that if the Stars aren’t what we expected they’d be at this point in the season, after all the hardships they’ve faced, well, maybe someone should apply more pressure.
What exactly would more pressure look like for the Dallas Stars? It seems like there are really no new options in that department for them this season. But Antoine Roussel was recently declared rather injured, so much so that he’ll be out the rest of the season.
Next: Defying Math: Stars' Playoff Chances Looking Slim
What other crazy things could happen? I’m not entirely certain, but I am sure that if it can happen, the hockey universe will spit it out right in the Stars’ direction.
So here’s to hoping things get worse – and therefore indirectly better – for the Dallas Stars, and soon.