Dallas Stars Loss To Oilers Poses Concerning Question

It was another opportunity at two points and another humbling loss. Now the Dallas Stars are 0-2-0 on the current road trip and in need of a serious turnaround.

Frustration, anger, denial, deliberation. These are probably just a few of the many emotions you were feeling last night as the Dallas Stars dropped 5-4 to the Oilers. But one emotion you probably didn’t feel was hopeful.

On Thursday night, the Stars just couldn’t get it done. They entered the third period of a 3-3 hockey game and could not come away with the win. Dallas claimed the 4-3 lead on a beautiful Esa Lindell power play goal, and it seemed like all was looking up.

But, almost as if it were a bad nightmare from 2016-17, the Stars coughed up two goals against (including the game winner in the final three minutes) and dropped the game 5-4.

The effort was there, that is for sure. It seems as though it’s been there all season, in both the wins and the losses. But the whole winning part is only happening half of the time, and that’s worrisome.

Dallas Stars /

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars now sit at a record of 5-5-0 through the first ten games of the regular season. They are nowhere near where many in the preseason expected them to be at this point. But it’s not all bad, right? Right?

The question at hand has to deal with the 2017-18 Dallas Stars as a whole. Are they that much better than the 2016-17 Stars?

As the season rolls on, Dallas is slowly slipping further and further into mediocrity. They are losing games that they could and should win, giving up 4+ goals per game, and can’t seem to get any help on offense from depth forwards. The defense is leaky and is causing the goaltending to be imbalanced as a result.

That sounds an awful lot like the 2016-17 team that broke Dallas Stars fans hearts on a nightly basis.

Over the past two games, the Stars have hit an obvious struggle. On offense, only two goals of the seven goals have come from players not named Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, or Alexander Radulov. On defense, there have been a humiliating ten goals put into the back of the Stars’ net. And in the goaltending column, Ben Bishop has allowed eight goals in two games.

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It’s a dark and confusing time for the Dallas Stars. This team had extremely high aspirations at the beginning of the season and now is struggling to stay above .500. What is so incredibly wrong with the team?

Well, just know that this team is still a lot better off than the 2016-17 team was. There’s a lot to like in their play so far, even though there may not be in the recent past.

The team as a whole brings a lot of grit to the ice. They are a determined bunch and have proved it so far in their play. They are dominant when they want to be. The only step remaining is making sure that they always want to be.