Dallas Stars Central Division Struggles Continue In Loss To Avalanche
By Josh Clark
After winning four games in a row, the Dallas Stars fell in a hard-fought loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night. The loss contributes to one of the Stars’ weakest points this year: play in the Central Division.
It’s not like the Dallas Stars played an altogether bad game, but it was still enough to warrant a loss.
On Tuesday night, the Stars entered the Mile High City with the longest win streak in the NHL at four games. Dallas owned a record of 5-3-0 and were rolling. Their play was dominant and it didn’t seem like any team could stop them.
That all came to a halt when the Colorado Avalanche, losers of three straight, took the Stars by complete surprise. They were quicker, stronger, and played a much more dedicated game. Meanwhile, the Stars struggled to keep up and gave an overall lazy effort. In the end, Dallas left the ice with a 5-3 loss.
What went so terribly wrong? Well, there were a few things.
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First off, the Stars couldn’t manage to get their mojo going until midway through the second period. Through the first eight games of the season, Dallas played a dominant, in-your-face, 60-minute style of hockey. It was hard for other teams to suppress or even match up against. The Stars were high-powered on offense, strategic on defense, and Ben Bishop’s goaltending was nearly unstoppable.
They looked like a whole team through the first two weeks. But on Tuesday night, all of that collapsed.
The Stars jumped out of the gate and took the early 1-0 lead. But Colorado was quick to fire back with a goal of their own. The Avs picked up a 2-1 lead early in the second, but was once again met by a Stars goal to tie it up at 2-2. As Dallas slowly began to find life and energy, Colorado took advantage of the slow start and took a 4-2 lead going into the second intermission.
Though the Stars owned the third period, they could not find the game-tying goal and ended up dropping the 5-3 decision.
There was a lot to digest after the loss. First off, Ben Bishop had been pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on 17 shots. Bishop was obviously unhappy with being pulled from the game and made his feelings known after the game. Regardless of whether it was the right choice by Ken Hitchcock or not, Bishop had given up three goals in 26:12. Something had to be done.
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In addition, the defense sacrificed multiple quality chances to the Avalanche offense. Over the early part of the season, the Dallas blue line had performed quite consistently. Last night was a different story.
The offense also had their own set of problems. The Stars’ three goals came exclusively from first line/pairing players (Jamie Benn, Brett Ritchie, and John Klingberg). The apparent lack of depth scoring has become an increasingly relevant problem for Dallas this season. Only a handful of players are contributing to the scoring, and the Stars are suffering as a result with their “one-dimensional” offense.
But the biggest problem is that now Dallas sits with a record of 1-3-0 in Central Division play.
It’s no secret that the Central Division is the deepest and most dangerous division in hockey. Teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, and Nashville Predators have proven to be consistent playoff contenders in each passing season. Along with these four, the Stars, Winnipeg Jets, and Colorado Avalanche are also known to be dangerous at certain points.
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It’s a deep division with a lot of competition, and divisional success is key to overall success. Last season, Dallas posted a record of 9-15-5 in divisional play. As a result, they finished sixth in the division and turned in their second-worst season in franchise history. But two seasons back, the Stars turned in a Central Division record of 19-7-3 and won the division title.
It’s a translated success, and Dallas is struggling with finding that success so far. The Dallas Stars have dropped a game to the Avalanche, Predators, and Blues this season. Their one win came against Colorado at home on October 14.
In each of the Stars’ divisional losses, they have given up at least four goals (13 total) per game. On the offensive side of things, they are averaging just over two goals per game. The stats aren’t there, the effort isn’t there, and the wins aren’t there.
This Dallas Stars team took the 2017 offseason by storm and was projected to be one of the most improved clubs in the NHL. They were projected to win the Central Division and make a surprisingly deep playoff run.
But if they cannot get out of their own division, the thought of qualifying for the playoffs is ludicrous.
On Tuesday night, the Stars once again showed their weaknesses in an important Central Division matchup. The team did show grit and determination as the game went on, but their lacking performance in the beginning was enough to do them in.
There are still plenty of Central Division matchups left for the Stars to bounce back in, but their early performance is a growing concern. The division is not getting any weaker, and the Stars need to start capitalizing on their divisional opportunities.
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Last night’s game was another example of the fact that this Dallas Stars team still has a lot of learning to do. The tools are there, but the chemistry is still brewing. Either way, they need to figure it out quickly. Otherwise, it might come back to bite them in the end.