The Dallas Stars were 15 points behind the Nashville Predators in the regular season. If the Stars won 8 more games, would they be where Nashville is now? Short answer, no.
As a Stars fan, watching the 2017 NHL playoffs really sucks. The Dallas Stars had such high expectations after the 2015-2016 season that it didn’t even seem like a possibility to miss the 2017 playoffs. It’s hard not to get jealous when watching Nashville command the ice in these last 10 games.
For the first time in franchise history, the Nashville Predators are going to the Conference Finals. They took down the Chicago Blackhawks in four games and the St. Louis Blues in six. This underdog team is not to be messed with.
What Nashville Has That The Stars Didn’t
Defense. Plain and simple. A team does not simply keep the Chicago Blackhawks to only three goals in four games without a strong defensive game.
The Predators are loaded with strong defensemen. The most notable defenseman is P.K. Subban, but he’s only part of the equation. Ryan Ellis, strong both defensively and offensively, has 9 points already in these playoffs. Roman Josi, another defeseman, also has 8 points. These defensemen are proving that defense can win games.
And Nashville’s defensemen aren’t the only players who are making an impact. Ryan Johansen, a Predators center, also helps with defense being a great two-way center. Johansen also had the deciding goal in Nashville’s win in game six against the Blues.
Pekka Rinne, all anyone can say about this goalie is “wow”. He has let only 14 goals in out of 10 games. Surprisingly, Rinne wasn’t this consistent at all during the regular season. In fact, he was barely better than Kari Lehtonen. Luckily for Nashville, he’s playing some of the best hockey in his career.
With great defensive depth and a solid goalie, the Predators could go along way in the 2017 playoffs. I wouldn’t mind at all if they took the cup.
Why the Stars Weren’t Successful
Lindy Ruff didn’t give the Stars the right strategy for the players he had in the 2016-2017 season. After losing Alex Goligoski, Vernon Fiddler (Currently a Predator), Jason Demers, Colten Sceviour, and even Mattias Janmark (from injury not trade) in the 2016 offseason, the Stars were just not the same team. But Lindy Ruff treated it like they were.
More from Analysis
- Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
- Taking a look at the teams the Dallas Stars will be playing in the preseason
- Should the Dallas Stars revisit signing Patrick Kane this season?
- Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Roope Hintz
- Realistic regular season stats for Dallas Stars Joe Pavelski
In the 2015-2016 season, the Dallas Stars were able to score so many goals that they could get away with mediocre defense. But some key players were gone and the goals stopped coming, disaster struck. The defense was so focused on becoming a part of the offense that they left many odd man rush opportunities for the opposing team.
Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi didn’t get ridiculously worse from one season to the next. True, they are both very inconsistent goalies and the Stars should aim to get a new one, but they weren’t the sole problem. When the goals stopped coming to save the day, it was clear the Stars had defensive problems to work through if they wanted to compete for a Stanley Cup in the near future.
The Good News
Ken Hitchcock is our new coach. Why is this such a big deal? He’s a “defense first” minded coach, the complete opposite of Ruff. He lead the St Louis Blue to be one of the best defensive teams in the league last season.
Hitchcock plans to make Tyler Seguin more like Ryan Johansen, a two-way player. Creating a good defensive game for Seguin is a big start to creating a solid defense for the Stars. If he’s willing to change his ways, Seguin could be the next Mike Modano.
Next: Stars Should Not Play In IIHF
Based on the teams left in the Playoffs, defense wins games. With a new coach and a new frame of mind, the Stars could go a long way next season.