Dallas Stars: The Ups, Downs, And In-Betweens Of October 2017

The Ups

Whether you agree or not, there was plenty to like about the Dallas Stars’ play in the first month. Though their success in certain areas came unexpectedly, they had enough to go off of.

As a result, they made the first month that much more entertaining for Stars fans and the hockey world alike. Let’s take a look at all of the positive things that Dallas showed in their play throughout October.

Special Teams Power

It’s no secret that the Dallas Stars are owning the NHL on the power play and penalty kill right now. Just take a look at the statistics and league standings and you’ll know.

Dallas Stars

The Stars sit no. 1 in power play efficiency and no. 2 in penalty kill efficiency in the NHL through the first 12 games of the season. That’s a jump up from 20th in PP efficiency and 30th in PK efficiency during the 2016-17 season.

It’s been an incredible transformation for the Stars. With new recruits and a new system, Dallas bounced back in a big way on the man advantage and shorthanded unit.

On the power play, they are hard on possession and generate plenty of chances. Both their first and second units contribute on a nightly basis, giving the Stars a well-rounded group on the man advantage. Both the forwards and defensemen are finding their way onto the scoresheet when on the power play as well.

On the penalty kill, Dallas is structured and consistent. They are quick on the puck, break up chances, and give up few opportunities.

All in all, it’s been a very impressive effort from the special teams units through the first month of the season. If they can keep up the pace, the Stars could go very far.

A Superstar Effort From The Superstars

Though the Dallas Stars might not be getting the scoring production they were hoping for from their depth forwards, their superstars are already in full stride.

Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and John Klingberg are just a few of the “stars” on the Stars that are off and running on the stat sheet.

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Benn is leading the way with 14 points (7G-7A) in 12 games, followed by Seguin with 12 points (7G-5A) and Klingberg with 11 points (3G-8A). Radulov is close behind with ten points (4G-6A).

Though these are not all of the Stars’ superstar players, it’s a large majority and shows just how well Dallas is spreading its scoring attack around. There isn’t one superstar taking on the brunt of the work. Instead, each one is contributing on a moderate yet consistent basis.

But it’s not just on the scoring sheet. These players are helping out on offense, defense, and special teams. They are all over the ice, giving their all and doing their part in each shift. And we cannot forget to mention goaltender Ben Bishop, who is off to a 6-2-0 start with a .920 save percentage.

The superstars of the Dallas Stars are already producing at full force, and that leaves promise for the future. Now if only the depth players would start producing at the same rate. Can’t have it all, right?

An Ability To Adapt Quickly

When Jim Nill hired Ken Hitchcock to be the newest head coach in April 2017, the Dallas Stars braced for a wave of change. After four years under coach Lindy Ruff, the Stars were set to endure an entirely new style of coaching.

Broad Street Buzz

2017-18 is Hitchcock’s second stint with the Stars. He was fired during his first stint for one simple reason: his tactics had his players burnt out.

Hitchcock is known as one of the most demanding coaches in the league. He demands a lot from each of his players, and while he does get results, his strategies can bring players to dismay and even desertion.

Now that Hitchcock is back, this young and enthusiastic Stars team was expected to undergo a certain “growth” period while adapting to Hitchcock and his methods. This adaptation period could very well have also led to a slow start. But so far, that hasn’t happened, at least entirely.

The Stars have adapted quite well in a short period of time and seem to have already bought into Hitchcock. That’s a strong positive for the team and leaves the door open for more opportunities at adapting down the road.

The Desire To Win

This one seems pretty obvious through their play.

Though the Dallas Stars are only 7-5-0 this season, their determination in games has been altogether encouraging. In games where they are losing, their push to get back into the game is evident. When they are winning, it’s obvious that they are pushing hard to make it more convincing.

At least some part of the Stars’ team has fought to claw back into the game in every loss this season. Whether that is offensive overload, defensive consistency, or lockdown goaltending really depends on the night. But just know that the

The Downs

While the positives are impressive and encouraging, the Dallas Stars have a fair share of negatives as well. As the season continues to roll on, here are a few things that the Stars can look to improve upon if they want to be a truly “great” team.

Central Division Struggles

If a team cannot win in their own division, they can never find true success. That isn’t an ancient Chinese proverb, but it probably should be. We’ll call it a hockey proverb and move on.

But it’s entirely true, and the Dallas Stars are suffering slightly as a result.

So far, the Stars have posted an unimpressive 1-3-0 record in Central Division play. In divisional games, they are lacking, inconsistent, and look unenthusiastic overall. They’ve dropped games to the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues. In each game, the Stars have had the opportunity to win, but have lacked the necessary overall effort to seize it.

Dallas Stars

If Dallas is planning on making a run at a postseason spot or further, their performance within their own division must improve. The Central Division is one of the toughest in pro hockey, so it is not going to be easy. It’ll be up to Dallas to rise to the occasion.

Only then will you achieve optimal success, young grasshopper.

Scoring Outside The Top Line

We alluded to this earlier in the “ups” section, but it’s probably one of the biggest downs the Stars are facing at the moment.

Of the 34 goals that Dallas has put up this season, 26 have been by forwards. And of those 26 goals, 18 have been scored by the top line (Benn, Seguin, or Radulov). That equals out to 69.2 percent of the offensive scoring coming from the top line.

It is worth mentioning that 12 of the 34 goals have come on the power play, which provides exclusive playing time to a handful of the Stars’ top forwards.

But still, it’s a problem when a first line is taking up 70 percent of the scoring. While it speaks about the dominance of a line and certain players, it points out the flaws in the rest of the lineup.

The Stars need the rest of their forwards group to take initiative and start finding the back of the net more often. Their first line is very powerful, but there will be nights where the top group cannot get it done. Some nights they will be off. It’s just a fact of the game. And when those nights roll around, Dallas will need all the help they can get from their bottom nine.

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Stalling At Even Strength

Going off of the previous point, the Dallas Stars also need more scoring at even strength.

When you take a look at the Stars’ stats and subtract out their power play and empty net goals, it brings their goal total on the year to 19. That’s an average of less than two even strength goals per game (1.58 GPG).

While their dominance on special teams is impressive, their even strength play looks disastrous. Dallas is struggling to put together consistent play at 5v5 and is relying on special teams power as a result. That can be alright at times, but cannot carry a team the distance.

The Stars need to start scoring more often at even strength. Not only will their offensive strength increase, but so will their confidence.

Very Few “Dominant” Wins

4-2, 3-1, 3-1, 5-4, 4-3, 2-1, 2-1. Those are the final scores of the Stars’ seven victories this season.

A common thread in these victories is the small margin in scoring. Dallas has yet to win a game by more than two goals, and each of their two-goal victories have included an empty-net goal. As a result, the Stars’ are 7-5-0 but their goal differential on the year is a measly +1.

This may not seem like an incredibly huge ordeal, but it very well can be. Winning by a decisive margin can speak volumes for a team and give them confidence going forward, and the Stars have played well enough to win by more than one or two goals.

Their offense is strong and their level of effort is exciting. They have the tools to start blowing teams out of the water. If they continue to sharpen their game and focus, it’s only a matter of time before the big wins will start rolling in. And when they do, the NHL will be on watch.

But still, a win is a win.

The In-Betweens

The Dallas Stars have run into plenty of positives and negatives in their first month of play. But there have also been some aspects that have gone both ways. In other words, they have been bright at times and not so bright at others. Let’s take a look at them.

Encouraging Play From Depth Players

While the Dallas depth forwards are not finding the scoresheet as often as they should, they are doing a lot of things right.

The Stars’ bottom nine are playing with grit and confidence in the early going of the season. They are controlling possession, making chances, and creating plenty of problems for the opposition outside of the top line.

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It’s disappointing to see them not getting rewarded on a regular basis for their efforts, but it’s only a matter of time before they are all getting on the stat sheet. Players like Tyler Pitlick, Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore and Radek Faksa are already making their cases known.

It’s impressive seeing the Dallas Stars’ offense working so effectively, even if the ones scoring are primarily on the top line.

Efforts From The Blue Line

The Dallas Stars defense was in shambles throughout the 2016-17 season and going into the 2017 offseason. There was very little veteran leadership, a lot of youthful exuberance that came with mistakes, and a lack of experience and fluidity.

With the addition of Ken Hitchcock and Marc Methot in the offseason, the Stars were expected to see a significant turnaround on defense. And boy have they, at least for the most part.

Through the first few games of the year, the Dallas blue line looked structured, focused, and strategic. They gave up few chances to their opposition, protected their goaltender, and played physical and smart when in the defensive zone.

As the month closed out, the defensive effort fell out a bit and the Stars gave up 13 goals in three games. It took away part of the strong start that the defense had put together, but their efforts should not be overlooked.

SenShot

The Goaltending Tandem

Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen have been rather impressive over the first month of the season. They have both struggled at times, but have kept the Stars in games on multiple occasions.

Bishop (6-2-0, .920 SV%, 2.51 GAA) helped carry the Stars through their longest win streak of the season at four games. He has shown flashes of being a fantastic and even elite starter at times and has proven that he can bounce back from poor performances. After giving up eight goals during the Stars’ two-game losing skid, Bishop responded with a .974 save percentage against the Canucks on Monday night.

Lehtonen (1-3-0, .891 SV%, 2.91 GAA), on the other hand, has not had an extensive opportunity to prove himself considering he is now the backup for Dallas. But after starting the year shakily and losing two consecutive games, he powered back for a dominant 2-1 win over Calgary last Friday in which he stopped 29 of 30.

Both goaltenders have shown flashes of brilliance in the first month. All we can do is hope they will continue to feed off of each other as the season goes on. If that happens, the Dallas crease could be a thing of beauty this year.

Next: Honka Going Back To AHL Is Best Move For Right Now

The Dallas Stars had a lot of things go right, wrong, and flat out indifferent over the first month of the season. As the year goes on, we’ll have to see how these things continue to progress.

But overall, it was a fun first month. Let’s do it again in November (and hopefully get some more wins in the process).