Dallas Stars: Five Game Road Trip Presents New Challenge
By Josh Clark
For the next five games, the Dallas Stars will be on the road and travel all across North America. Plenty of challenges await them over that five-game span. Will they be able to stay hot and continue rolling?
5600 miles. That’s a pretty close estimate as to how far the Dallas Stars will travel over the next 11 days.
On Monday afternoon, the Stars hit the road on their way to Denver, CO. Tonight, they will take on the Colorado Avalanche. This will be their second time to play the Avs this season and their fourth Central Division matchup of the year.
But the bigger storyline revolves around their upcoming schedule. Over the next 10 days, Dallas will play in five different cities against five different opponents. This is the Stars’ first “road trip” of the 2017-18 season, and it’s a brute.
This is the first of two five-game road trips for Dallas this season and the first of four road trips that are at least four games long. All of this information revolves around one central question: will the Dallas Stars be able to bounce back?
Dallas Stars
This is a Stars team that went 12-24-5 away from home last season, the second worst road record in the NHL. Luckily, this year’s team looks entirely different.
The 2017-18 Dallas Stars currently own a record of 5-3-0 on the season and sit third in the Central Division. That is a decent record, but Dallas is actually playing even better than the record shows.
Through the first eight games, the Stars have been dominant and aggressive in their play. Their offense averages over 34.5 shots per game and creates plenty of chances, the defense is playing with structure and form and giving up few opportunities, and the goaltending of Ben Bishop has been stellar. In addition, their special teams have been firing. The Stars currently own the sixth best power play and third best penalty kill in the league.
Though they hit some inconsistent bumps early on, they have leveled out recently. The Stars currently own a four-game win streak, which is the longest active streak in the NHL.
How long will it last, though? That’s the question at hand.
Over the next week and a half, Dallas will travel to different states and provinces across the league. They will meet up with the Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets.
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Each of these five different opponents brings a new challenge to the table. The Avs are looking for revenge after Dallas kickstarted a three-game losing streak for the team a week ago. The Oilers are still trying to find their footing after a slow start to the year. The Flames are just outside the playoff picture and trying to start a run. The Canucks are capitalizing on a surprisingly hot start. Finally, the Winnipeg Jets are looking to jump up the Central Division standings.
The Dallas Stars also have a goaltending scenario to deal with. Ben Bishop is projected to start his seventh straight game tonight in Colorado. He is also slated to start against Edmonton on Thursday. He’s been red hot so far, but will he be able to keep the streak up on the road with the Stars being 1-2-0 away from home?
On Friday night, Kari Lehtonen is the projected starter against the Flames. The Stars have yet to win a game this season with him in net. It’s also on the second night of a back-to-back, meaning Dallas has yet another obstacle to get over. Will they be able to rally around Lehtonen and keep the hot streak alive?
The final thing to focus on is the win streak. The Dallas Stars own the longest win streak in the NHL at four games. This is their first time with a four-game win streak since March 2016. It’s easy for constant success to get to the head of a team, especially in the early portion of a regular season. The Stars need to make sure that they stay focused and continue playing the exciting brand of hockey they have created.
If they can do that, then five games over a ten-day span should be easily doable. But if they slip up or begin lounging on their win streak, they could be in for a rude awakening.
Next: Tyler Pitlick: The Stars' New And Improved No. 18
It’s all up to how they react and adjust. A long road trip can reveal a lot about a team and can provide an outlook for the rest of the season. Let’s see if Dallas can take this opportunity by the tail.
Off to the wild, wild west.