The Dallas Stars opened their 2017-18 regular season in the most heartbreaking of fashions. They gave up a late-game lead and granted the Vegas Golden Knights their first ever win as a team. But you still shouldn’t be panicking.
It’s day two of the 2017-18 regular season campaign for the Dallas Stars, and they’re already in the hole.
Last night, the Stars kicked off their regular season with an opening night matchup at home against the Vegas Golden Knights. Though they put up a solid showing and great fight, Dallas still found a way to end the night with a loss.
It was the Golden Knights’ first win in franchise history. From now until the end of time, the Stars will forever be known as “the first team Vegas bested.” That might frustrate you, it might annoy you, and it may even embarrass you.
But don’t take it too harshly.
Dallas Stars
Many Dallas Stars fans quickly reached for the panic button following the loss on Friday night. Dallas held a 1-0 lead going into the third period, but after some miscues and poorly timed occurrences, James Neal and the Knights found a way to get two on the board and take the 2-1 victory.
That’s not the ideal start to a season filled with so much promise. Losing to the new team on the block hurts, but it was by no means a bad loss.
A couple of things went against the Stars last night in their regular season debut that helped contribute to their demise.
For example, Dallas couldn’t catch a break in either crease. On the opposing end, Marc-Andre Fleury had one of the best games of his career, stopping 45 of 46 shots faced by a hungry and determined Dallas offense. In the other end, Ben Bishop played a stellar game before leaving with an injury and giving way to Kari Lehtonen midway through the third period. This substitution cut Bishop’s hot streak off and took some of the added momentum away from Dallas.
In another area, this game was just as much of a “feel out” game for the Dallas Stars as it was for Vegas. Like Vegas, the Stars had many new members on their roster. It was their first time fronting this lineup, and there were obviously some growing pains. Sometimes, a defender would forget their man. Other times, a forward wouldn’t crash the net for the rebound.
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Small little miscues added up, but they were expected to an extent. The team needed a game to get all of their inefficiencies out in the open and figure out how the rest of their line mates and teammates performed in an in-game situation.
All in all, the Stars played a terrific game. The offense was red-hot and firing and the defense performed in a shutdown role and had one of its best showings in a long time. The goaltending was impressive, and the special teams was pretty good, specifically on the penalty kill.
The Dallas Stars team that hit the ice last night is still very capable of being a playoff team and even competing for a Stanley Cup. It was a hard way to go down in game one against a new team, but that’s why there’s 81 more games to figure it out. It’s only one loss, and Rome wasn’t built in a day.
No matter how depressed you may be that Dallas couldn’t spoil Vegas’s franchise opener and start the year off on the right foot at home, just remember that they played great considering the circumstances. Also remember that there is plenty of time to get back in the win column and start rolling.
That starts tonight in St. Louis at 7:00 p.m. against the Blues. Tonight’s game will say a lot about the Stars’ ability to rebound AND their competency in a back-to-back situation.
Next: Predicting The Stars' 2017-18 Season: Blackout Dallas Edition
So make sure to tune in. There’s a lot of season left to be played, and last night’s Dallas Stars team can win a lot of hockey games. Rest in that fact as the season truly gets underway.