Last night in a disappointing tilt against the Bruins, the Dallas Stars had the chance to change their fate with a 4 minute power play. Their failure to use it to their advantage sums up the negative effect of a hard season on the Stars’ special teams.
It was the third period, and the Stars were down 2-0 with a few wasted power play attempts under their belts already. But the Dallas Stars got a lucky break in the form of an unlucky situation when Kevan Miller was called for an ugly high sticking against Curtis McKenzie that left him bleeding profusely and caused him to leave the game.
The consolation was that the Stars were awarded a 4 minute power play opportunity. Even for a team whose power play has been on the not so good end of the spectrum this season, 4 minutes should be more than enough to get something going, right?
Wrong. The Stars wafted through that chance with nothing to show for it. Not only did they let this double minor penalty slip through their fingers with no pay off, but the Stars failed to convert on their other two power play opportunities during the game.
The infamous penalty kill has been picked on a lot recently, and rightly so. But coming down the stretch toward the end of a very unfruitful season, it’s clear that the Stars’ special teams all around are burnt out and underperforming.
I think we can trace a good bit of it back to coaching style and expectations. I’m not intentionally and maliciously jumping on the Lindy-hating bandwagon here; I can just clearly see how certain actions have played out and affected the team as a whole.
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The bandwagon I will jump on, however, and have done so on many occasions, is the we’ve taken one step forward and three steps back on defense bandwagon. Ruff was keen to bring in big, strong defensemen who could play a physical and aggressive game, and has had his sights on continuing to do so even until recently.
And that approach, although it seemed like a good one at the time, has proven itself inefficient over time. Last night’s game is a perfect example of why.
The Dallas Stars and the Bruins had the exact same number of hits and penalty minutes. Although the Stars bled more than the Bruins did, it seems safe to me to say that the level of physicality was pretty well-matched.
And still, despite aggressive play, the Stars tanked. Stephen Johns, who’s had the highest hitting numbers and is one of the biggest bodies on the team as far as aggressive play goes, had an incredibly off night. As a member of one of the Stars’ power play units, this is a doubly bad thing.
Overall, Ruff’s system for fitting these big-bodied defensemen into the team isn’t working. While I would also advocate for a more rounded approach to the type of players populating the d-core, I also believe that the current defensive players aren’t being given their best chance to succeed.
I believe that’s also why we’ve seen the greatest success and most consistent, good play come from our rookies this year. The system has been less ingrained in them.
I don’t meant to be talking about the Dallas Stars system or coaching staff as if they’re the communist party or anything. Like you, I just want to see the team at its best.
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And last night’s power play opportunities certainly helped cement the fact that the failure this season was not a fluke, and something needs to be done to right it if the Stars want their shot at victory.