Dallas Stars: Regular Season Still Showing Significant Promise
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars are 0-2-0 to start the 2017-18 season, and people are already hitting the panic button. But sometimes, the best things in life have to be waited for. And most of the time, they are worth the wait.
The NHL regular season has been underway for five days now, and a lot of unexpected and unpredicted things have already happened.
Alexander Ovechkin has two hat tricks in two games; the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins gave up 15 goals in their first two games (including 10 against the Blackhawks); the Hawks are 2-0-0 with a +13 goal differential; and the Vegas Golden Knights are undefeated at 2-0-0.
To top it all off, the Dallas Stars are 0-2-0 and have yet to get their first points on the standings board this year.
This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. In the perfect vision of Stars fans, Dallas would start the season off on a dominant note by beating the Vegas Golden Knights. The team would then hop on a plane and close out their first back-to-back of the year with an important divisional victory over the St. Louis Blues.
Dallas Stars
Neither of those scenarios occurred. Instead, the Stars dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Knights after giving up a late lead in front of a sold out home crowd. They added on to the sorrow by giving up three goals in the first period on Saturday night to the Blues. The game ended in a 4-2 result, pushing the Stars down further in the ranks.
Some fans are already calling for another overhaul. Others are saying that two games down simply means there are 80 more games left to turn things around.
But whatever way you look at it, this is not an ideal situation for Dallas. It is sad that they did not meet their early-season expectations, but it’s even worse that they still can’t even pick up one point.
The frustration is building. Dallas Stars fans are beginning to wonder if this great “offseason of change” was just yet another sham. Is the 2017-18 season truly headed for disaster like last year? Is there any real way to fix this team?
Before you conjure up any more hypothetical schemes or scenarios, stop and realize something.
What you need to realize is that the city of Rome wasn’t built in one day. Neither was the city of Dallas, if we want to use a more relevant example.
The point of this quote is that things of beauty take time.
When the Dallas Stars hired Ken Hitchcock in April, a new system was put into place. There were significant differences between a Hitchcock system and a Lindy Ruff system, and those differences would take some time to get used to.
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It’s not as easy a transition as people might want it to be. Hitchcock’s style of coaching is much more demanding than Ruff’s style and focuses on different areas. It can take the players time to adapt to a new system, and sometimes the adaptation won’t be immediate.
In addition to that, the new players are still getting their feet wet. They have new line mates and pairings that they are getting used to and trying to find chemistry with. It’s a new environment with new teammates who have different preferences and skill sets.
The truth of the matter is that it really is only two games. It’s disappointing that they couldn’t beat Vegas or St. Louis and start the season off on an ideal note, but these two games make up 2.4 percent of the regular season schedule.
There are still 80 games to go in the regular season, and the Dallas Stars have plenty of time left to properly adjust. Once they figure things out and lock in as a complete and structured unit, this team can be dangerous. This team has shown in their first two games that the offense, defense, and goaltending are all in store for massive upgrades from last year. All it takes is some commitment and positivity.
The offense is already firing away at a high rate of speed, so it’s only a matter of time before the goals begin flooding in. The defense is showing a better commitment to playing back and using proper structure. And the goaltending is quickly growing into a positive force.
Things may not look entirely positive at the current moment, but it’s only a matter of time before the team starts rolling. Their next opportunity is on Tuesday night back at home against the Detroit Red Wings. It’s another chance for two points and to get back on the winning track. Massive change can sometimes require time to be instilled properly.
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This may take some time, but the payoff has the potential to be a serious thing of beauty. GM Jim Nill didn’t spend the offseason rebuilding his roster to miss the playoffs for a second straight year.
So stay positive, Stars fans, and don’t stop believing.