Dallas Stars: Five Takeaways From First Quarter Of 2017-18 Season
Last night’s game marked number 21 on the year for the Dallas Stars. Here are some observations about their play in the first quarter of the 2017-18 regular season. Take a gander.
As I was walking out of morning skate on Tuesday, I happened to run into Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock.
After talking for a few moments, I asked him one question: “So coach, what do you think of your first 20 games back in Dallas?”
He responded simply by giving me a smile and a repetitive up, down, up, down motion with his hand, resembling a rollercoaster. Hitch went on to talk about what he liked so far, what he disliked, and what he expected from the team going forward.
My mind kept wandering back to that simple hand motion as the day went on. The thing about rollercoasters is that they offer a balance of highs and lows. There could be more highs or potentially more lows, but you know you’ll get a nice mixture of both more often than not.
That’s what the Dallas Stars have gotten this season. They have experienced some ultimate highs and also trudged through some almost inexplicable lows. One night they win 5-0 and follow it up with a 6-1 loss. They have become stuck on this up-down pattern and it is becoming exhausting.
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In the preseason, there probably weren’t many people that had the Stars at 11-9-1 after 21 games, yet here they are. But it’s not all bad. The early expectations are simply overshadowing the good that the team is currently doing. Don’t forget that there are still some ups in this season.
Last night, the Stars had a big up. It wasn’t the cleanest of performances, but Dallas played with an effective style and beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. With the win, the Stars went undefeated on a two-game homestand after losing three in a row on the road. Up, down, up, down.
The game also helped mark the quarter mark of the 2017-18 season for Dallas. Though there is no exact quarter mark in an 82-game slate, it’s somewhere in between games 20 and 21.
So now that the Dallas Stars closed out their first quarter on a high note, what are some things we’ve seen? What are some things we can expect to see from the team going forward?
Here are five takeaways from the first 1/4 of the Dallas Stars season and an outlook on where they could potentially be going from here (if they keep up the pace).
1. It’s Not As Bad As It May Look
There is a lot of negativity floating around the Dallas Stars community at the moment.
“This team really isn’t good.”
“How is this any different than last year?”
“The Stars are wasting Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin’s best years”
The negative comments continue to flow in as the Stars roll along in their 2017-18 campaign. When the team loses, it’s all about how they’re a bad hockey team. When they win, it’s all about nit-picking their flaws and inadequacies. In other words, it doesn’t seem like the Stars can ever win.
Dallas Stars
But it’s not been as bad as people are making it. Instead, the Stars have struggled with bouncing from one polar end to the other. There’s no in between with them.
One night they lose by a significant margin and look like a lost and misconstrued hockey team. Two nights later, they dominate every facet of the game and win in overbearing fashion.
This team is lacking consistency in their play, but they are also lacking consistency in their effort. It’s almost like they either show up or stay home on a given night. They are experiencing the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde phenomena.
But there have been plenty of good signs in the Dallas Stars play. The Stars are making significant strides with each passing game, whether it looks like it or not. They just have to start finding a way to harness all of the good stuff in a game-by-game basis.
They did that for the most part in last night’s contest. After starting slow, Dallas eventually woke up after giving up the first goal in the second period. The Stars responded quickly, bringing offensive pressure and depth scoring into the picture. On defense, they minimized chances and cleared the puck out of the zone with efficiency. And in net, Ben Bishop didn’t budge after the early power play goal.
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From the time of the Montreal goal with 7:56 left in the second to the end of the period, the Stars outshot the Canadiens 12-2 and outscored them 2-0. They were resilient and responded to the wakeup call properly instead of buckling and giving in.
Dallas needs more of that in their game. But they also need to add in other elements, like a quick start and smarter play which leads to less penalties.
That is much easier said than done, as we know. The Dallas Stars proved last night that they can be a good hockey team and can face adversity head-on when they choose to. It’s all about making that decision and taking the first step forward.
But it hasn’t all been bad. The Stars have shown some very good things in their play as the season has rolled along. Here is to hoping that they keep showing those good things as the next quarter starts.
2. Goaltending Is A Two-Man Ordeal
It’s clear that very few teams can succeed in this league with only one confident goaltender. That’s why every team carries at least two goaltenders, one being a starter and the other being a backup.
The starter is expected to carry the load, but the backup is there to provide support when the starter falters. In other words, he’s a safety valve.
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The Dallas Stars have struggled with finding a competent two-goalie setup over the past few years. For the past few seasons, Kari Lehtonen served as the starter. The Finnish goaltender was a promising starter who had plenty of bright spots and helped the Stars out in a variety of situations.
One of those situations happened to be his lack of help. A vast number of backup goalies cycled through Dallas in a seven-year period, but none ended up being a solution. The most recent disaster came with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi splitting time in the crease during from the 15-16 season through the 16-17 season.
After GM Jim Nill finally had enough, he tried something different: shift the aging Lehtonen to the backup role and bring in a new starter. Lehtonen still proved his determination and competency, but his days of keeping up with the other starters in the NHL were quickly shortening. That did not bode well for a weak and young defensive group on the Dallas blue line.
So the Stars brought in Ben Bishop to be the no. 1 goalie, and so far things have gone well.
You might not think so because of Bishop’s .908 save percentage and Lehtonen’s .897 save percentage. But things are going well for the duo so far.
The biggest thing that must happen in order for a duo to click is they must lean on each other. Without that, things will collapse when one goaltender falters. That’s what went wrong last year. When Lehtonen would struggle, Niemi would prove unable to help catch him and back him up. Same goes vice versa.
But with this duo, that leaning is happening. The Stars have already been forced to test out the reliability of their crease on multiple occasions this year. There have been games where Bishop struggles early and Lehtonen comes in to settle things down (like in Colorado). On the flip side, Bishop has come in to play “damage control” when Lehtonen gets behind early.
It also comes into play between games. When Bishop closes out a night with an ugly loss, Lehtonen comes in the next night and puts on a dominant showing. Same goes the other way around.
It’s hard to judge this new duo considering the lack of defensive consistency in front of them, but things are looking good so far. Big Ben and Kari are leaning on each other and supporting each other, and that only bodes well for the future.
3. The “Slow Starting” Stars Are Starting To Heat Up
It wasn’t the ideal start to the season for the Dallas Stars as a team. It also wasn’t the ideal start for multiple Stars’ players.
There was a variety of Stars personnel, specifically on offense, that started the year off on a quiet note. That quiet note was rather unexpected considering the caliber and past results of some of the players on the list.
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Devin Shore, Jason Spezza, Martin Hanzal, and Brett Ritchie were just a few of the players that took their time getting out of the gate. As a result, the Dallas Stars offense struggled putting up points outside of the top line throughout the first few games of the year. Depth scoring was becoming a major issue as these players struggled to find offensive consistency.
But that looks as though it could finally be changing. Take Spezza for example. After not scoring in the first 15 games of the season (which is almost unbelievable), he tallied his first goal on November 10th against the Islanders. He’s now scored three goals and tallied four points in the last six games.
Shore, on the other hand, struggled simply with finding the back of the net. After tallying seven assists in the first 13 games, Shore has now scored in back-to-back games and is starting to apply offensive pressure with each shift. He’s fifth on the Stars’ forwards list in shots with 38 and is starting to generate more opportunities for himself.
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These hard workers both started the year on semi-slow paces and could not seem to find their regular spark that they typically carry. And though these last few games are just a small sampling size, their energy and play seems to be on the uptick.
As a result of their contributions, the Dallas Stars offense just seems more whole. It’s encouraging to see them finally hitting their stride along with a few other Stars and providing depth scoring as a result. Let’s see if they can keep it up tonight in Colorado.
4. The Defense Is Getting There (Whether You Think So Or Not)
When the Dallas Stars hired Ken Hitchcock at the beginning of the 2017 offseason, many rejoiced. That’s because if anyone could fix the broken defense the Stars owned, it would be Hitch.
Dallas had one of their worst defensive years in franchise history last season. They were second to last in goals against at an average of 3.17 per game. That didn’t mix well with an injury-ridden and subpar offense.
The talent was there on the blue line, but it wasn’t used effectively. The Stars were centered on an offensive-first system, which left the young and inexperienced defenders little time to react and adjust properly. And when it came down to the defense holding down the fort, there was little to no hope.
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The Dallas Stars as an entire team did not possess much defensive focus or strength. That’s why Hitchcock and assistant coach Rick Wilson were such exciting additions.
But throughout the first 21 games this year, the defense almost looks worse than it did last year. Dallas has surrendered three or more goals in 12 of their 21 contests this season and look lost on defense at times. The defensive effort is laggy and inconsistent. Part of that has to do with a lack of focus or pairings with little chemistry. Another part of it deals with a lack of consistency with the players in the lineup.
Though it may look bleak and messy, the Dallas defense is actually getting better and more consistent with each passing performance.
In last night’s game, for instance, the Stars gave up no even strength goals and only sacrificed 23 shots at even strength. Many of those shots were from the outside boards or were from a good distance, giving Bishop plenty of time to make the save. Bishop was put into very few high-pressure situations.
The same goes for last Saturday’s game. After giving up a SHG and PPG, the Stars only gave up one even strength goal before shutting the door and giving Bishop an ideal road to the finish. The offense catching fire was merely bonus points.
The Stars are going about their defensive play with a much more committed and dedicated style over the past few games. When the forwards play back and help out, things are going well. The Dallas defense as it currently sits looks decent and capable. The pairings of Esa Lindell/John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis/Greg Pateryn are looking extremely confident, both at even strength and on special teams.
This is a defense that is much better than the numbers say. All it takes is for them to continue playing like they have and those numbers will definitely improve. They’re young and are prone to mistakes at times, but this defensive group has plenty of talent to make up for it. Keep up the balance.
5. It’s A Learning Process
As surprising as it may seem, the Dallas Stars are right on track with where they should be this season.
None of this was ever supposed to happen overnight. You might have heard that from a fan blinded by hype, but it’s not accurate. This team needed to take its time starting the engine, and it has.
The Dallas Stars are 11-9-1 and just a touch over .500 through the first quarter of the season. Why is that a bad thing?
Dallas Stars
Well, they were supposed to be 18-3-0 by now, right?
Wrong. Anytime a team adds a new head coach and coaching staff, top three forward, depth forwards, top pairing defender, and starting goaltender in one offseason, there is going to be an adjustment process that must occur.
There are new systems, new playing styles, new skills, and new personalities that the team has to accustom themselves to. It’s not easy at times, and sometimes it can take longer than expected to mesh. Sometimes, that level of comfort and chemistry is not reached, which leads to a failed experiment.
The Dallas Stars look to be working their way out of the adjustment period and into the comfort zone. When that happens, just know that this team is going to be fun to watch and dangerous to the league.
Devin Shore said it best after last night’s win over Montreal:
“20 games in, we’re right in the thick of it right now, so it’s time to get going. But we’re excited, it’s going to be a good opportunity, and I think we’re up for the challenge.”
The Dallas Stars simply had to get comfortable as a group, and that’s what those first 20 games are all about. The team needed to group together and see what works. They tried some things that worked really well, they tried some things that blew up in their face, and they figured out what it takes to win a game with the group they have.
Now that each player and group is starting to understand their role on the team, the future is wide open. It’s up to the Stars to seize it by the tail.
The first 21 games of the 2017-18 regular season brought a lot of interesting things to the Dallas Stars organization. There were ups and downs, positives and negatives, and a lot of excitement and heartbreak.
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But the rollercoaster ride was a fun one. It helped show just what this team is capable of doing when they stick together.
The time for rides is over, though. It’s time get moving.