Dallas Stars' Road Woes Won't Let Up As Season Draws To A Close

The Dallas Stars have suffered on the road, and it has played into their disappointing season in a major way.

When it rains, it certainly pours.

The Dallas Stars suffered something of a blow-out loss in Tampa Bay last night. We all know the season has tanked and that ship has obviously sailed, but after their win the game before last against the Canes, it seemed at least that these Stars, running on less than fumes, had found a little energy they’d kept back for a rainy day and were going to at least make the final few games of the season enjoyable for all their loyal fans.

Well, one could hardly make that argument now. Against the Blues, they notched their 24th away loss this season, bringing their road record to the grand total of 12-24-5, one of the worst in the league. Beyond that, it’s also a personal best- er, I guess worst- for the Stars. They’ve earned, this season, their worst road record since the Stars came to Dallas. Ouch.

I’ve had (as I’m sure you have had as well) multiple theories about the state of the Stars’ road that rotate based on whether that state is positive or negative. Just two seasons ago, the Dallas Stars were a drastically better road team than a home one. Just compare their home record of 17-16-8 that season to their road one of 24-15-2. I mean, I gotta ask- where the heck did that Stars team go?

My explanation at the time, and one that it seemed a lot of people shared, was that the Stars felt too pressured to perform at home. On the road, fewer Stars fans dotted the crowds with their victory green and white, so hence less pressure to please the fans when on the road.

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So if that was the case then, what does that mean today? Do the Dallas Stars not feel pressured to perform well… at all?

I don’t think that’s the answer. At least, I hope not. Rewind with me again to last season. After the 14-15 season, which I like to call the Reign of the Road Game, the Stars seemed to have gotten a little confidence under their belt and ended by going (however ill-fatedly) to playoffs, and by achieving much more even-looking home and away records: 28-11-2 and 22-12-7, respectively. The Western Conference champions had found a good balance.

But back to present day, and the Dallas Stars are still flailing, as they have been all season, to win on the road. One could argue that another nail in the Stars’ coffin this season has been their long roadtrips, in which they’d accrue multiple long strings of losses from which they could never completely recover.

But again, why?

I think it’s a complex problem to big for any one answer. But if I had to give you a piece of an opinion, I would say it comes down to their ripeness as a team. The Stars went further than imagined last season, and naturally everyone, themselves included, wanted even more from them this season.

But frankly, that’s not how success is built. The Dallas Stars are still a fairly young team that enjoyed a rather unsustainable success last season. One that they did work hard for, but one that needs time to turn into something more.

The Dallas Stars really put themselves on the map with their last season achievements. As an East coast Stars fan, I still get people who ask twice to make sure they heard me right in clarifying that hockey exists in Texas. However, not as many people ask me now as they used to.

That’s turned into a jointly good and bad thing for the Stars. It’s great to be recognized as legitimate, but with that achievement also comes higher expectation and pressure. And we already know pressure is a touchy thing for the Stars.

Too little, too much- there’s a thin line somewhere that separates these two, but I don’t think the Stars have found it yet (and if you’re not sure what I mean, click here and allow me to enlighten you).

But in a time when the Stars are still very obviously still trying to find their identity as a team, the brighter lights and higher stakes haven’t been their friends. I think this has played out in an especially true way on the road. And it’s something that can only be remedied with more time, experience, and work to solidify who they are.

Next: Stars Recalling All They Can From AHL As Season Ends

With only a few games left in the season, I think the Stars are going to struggle right on until the end. And in its own way, that could be a good thing for them. They say the lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

And perhaps in the disappointment of losing themselves in a hard season, the Stars will be able to reflect on the team they had hoped to be this season and make the changes necessary to start becoming that team.

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