Dallas Stars Heading Out On Three Game Road Trip Through East

Another week, another opportunity to get ahead. The Dallas Stars are off on a three-game road swing through the Eastern Conference. It’s the perfect chance for them to make a statement and keep moving forward.

The days of Western Conference foes are over for the Dallas Stars, at least for these next few days. That’s because Dallas will kick off a three-game road trip through the East tonight in Carolina.

It’s another chance for Dallas to get some wins, but it’s also a prime chance for them to get ahead.

Tonight, the Stars will start the trip off with their second matchup of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes. They will then hop a plane to Florida for a Tuesday night affair with the Florida Panthers in their third back-to-back of the year. Finally, they will close out the trip on Thursday against the best team in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning. There’s a good chance that Dallas could post a 3-0-0 record across the board.

The Dallas Stars have played considerably well against the Eastern Conference this season, posting a record of 4-0-0. They have defeated the Red Wings, Hurricanes, Sabres, and Islanders on their way to this undefeated record, but have yet to play an Eastern team away from home.

Dallas Stars

Dallas currently sits with a record of 9-7-0 and no one knows what to make of them just yet.

By one standard, they are looking incredibly dominant when they win. They control every asset of the game, dominate possession, and make easy work of their opposition (see New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Carolina Hurricanes for further evidence).

But by another standard, they look sloppy, effortless, and misconstrued in their losses. They never seem to start out at a quick enough pace and fall behind early, leaving them a hole that they cannot seem to ever dig out of.

Now that they are about 1/5 of the way into their 2017-18 regular season campaign, something needs to be done. The Stars need to find their identity soon and either get up or get out. There’s no more time to follow the “win-lose-win-lose pattern.

This upcoming road trip offers them a chance to make their case known. Both the Hurricanes and Panthers are struggling to build up their own reputations. Carolina currently sits 13th in the Eastern Conference at 6-5-4 and the Panthers sit in dead last at 5-9-2. Though Florida is last, they are only six points away from Dallas, so don’t consider them a fluke just yet.

The same goes for Carolina. The Stars already have one win against the Canes this year, but it didn’t necessarily come easy. Dallas built a sturdy 4-0 lead through two periods but had to fight off a furious attack from Carolina in the third. They managed to hold out and escaped with a 4-3 victory.

Each of these games gives Dallas a chance to create a new look for themselves. It’s a back-to-back scenario with a good amount of travel involved. Ben Bishop is the projected starter against Carolina and Kari Lehtonen is projected to start on Tuesday against Florida. It’s two opportunities for the entire Stars roster to prove themselves as legitimate contenders.