The Dallas Stars are experiencing a grueling start in Central Division play, we get that. But just how crucial are these games and what can they do to right the ship?
The Central Division is killing the Dallas Stars right now, and that is not a good thing.
On Monday night, the Stars were throttled on home ice by the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period and controlled the remainder of the game. Though Dallas tried to claw their way back into the game, their slow start to the game buried their chances.
With the loss, the Dallas Stars dropped to 8-7-0 on the year. That’s 16 points in 15 games, putting them on just a little over a point-per-game pace. That is not the ideal start to a season, especially considering teams with 82 points never make the playoffs.
But one of the Stars’ largest and most evident struggles this season has come from their performance in the division.
Dallas Stars
After Monday night’s devastation, Dallas fell to 1-5-0 on the 2017-18 season in Central Division play. It was the second time in five days that the Stars dropped to a Central team (they also lost to Winnipeg last Thursday).
Their last Central Division win came on October 14 against the Colorado Avalanche. In the game, Dallas played with a complete and effective style and set the pace. They won the game 3-1 and picked up their second win of the season.
Since then, it has been an absolute tire fire. The Stars have dropped three straight games to the Central. They have fallen at the hands of St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets. Dallas has dropped at least one game to every Central team except Chicago and Minnesota (who they have not met up with yet). That’s becoming an increasingly glaring problem.
If you’re a sports fan, you likely have an understanding of how important it is for a team to win in their division. While divisional play does not carry as much weight in the NHL as it does in the NFL or college football, it still plays a large role.
For example, if the Stars go winless in their division, that’s 26 games and 52 total points lost. That means that even if they won out in the rest of their schedule (which is entirely impossible to do), they would finish with 112 points. That may sound fine, but the logistics of the situation make it highly fictional.
Dallas needs to win in the division, plain and simple. They may not need to necessarily win the Central as a whole, but it’s essential that they have a decent spot in the standings come playoff time. After all, six of the eight playoff positions are determined solely by divisional standing.
The Stars are struggling with getting the job done in the Central, and a lot of it has to do with how the team is performing in the games.
In the six divisional games this season, the Stars have been outscored 23-12. The opposition is almost doubling down on Dallas in terms of scoring. The Stars are messy and disconnected on offense, porous on defense, and unreliable in the net.
It’s disappointing considering the Dallas Stars have already proven themselves to be a confident and dangerous hockey team on certain occasions. But when a Central Division rivalry comes around, that team is nowhere to be found. They have to fix that soon and bring a consistent image to the ice. It may be early in the year, but the middle chunk of the season is quickly approaching.
In the month ahead, Dallas does not have many more opportunities to prove themselves in the division. The Stars will travel to Colorado for their third meeting of the season on November 22 and finish out the month in Chicago against the Blackhawks. In December, the Stars face off against Central foes in eight of their 15 games. But that’s still a month away.
Until then, the Stars need to focus on finding their image and bringing a consistent effort to every game. The start of the season has been lackadaisical at best and the Stars need something to right the ship. If they can start sticking out on a nightly basis through their play (especially against the division), Dallas could be in for an entirely new month ahead. This team is powerful and has the tools to be great, they just have to start proving it more often.
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A large part of that comes with dominating in their division. The 1-5-0 hole that they created is not going to be easy to climb out of. Does this team have the charisma to make it happen?