The regular season struggles of the Dallas Stars are evident. In this upcoming stretch, the Stars will be tested against just about all of them. Will they be able to keep their win streak alive?
It’s game night in Chicago and the Dallas Stars are in a prime position to finally take the reins on their season. They have a lot riding on tonight’s matchup against the Blackhawks and could benefit or suffer greatly from the results.
The Stars are lined up perfectly to secure just their second 3+ win streak of the 2017-18 season. They are currently riding a two game win streak against two Pacific Division squads, being the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. Both of those wins came in quite the stellar fashion.
Dallas ended Thanksgiving week with a 6-4 victory over Calgary on Jere Lehtinen’s jersey retirement night. The Stars fell behind on three different occasions during the game but fought back every time. In the third period, they scored three unanswered goals (including a hat trick from Tyler Seguin) to claim the victory. With the win, Dallas negated their loss two nights prior to one of their Central Division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.
Two nights back, the Dallas Stars hit the road with their dads/mentors to start the two-game trip that they will end tonight. They started off in Vegas against the NHL’s newest (and one of the hottest, for that matter) team. The Golden Knights had already spoiled the Stars’ season opener at the AAC in October and were looking to shut down their bid for consistent performances.
Dallas Stars
But Dallas got the better hand. Behind Radek Faksa’s first career hat trick and Ben Bishop’s shutout, the Stars emerged with a 3-0 victory for their second straight win. It was also just their fourth win of the season away from home.
And now the attention turns to the Windy City, where the Stars and Blackhawks are set to face off for the first time this season. But this game means a lot more than just determining which team has sole control over the first wild card spot (since both teams currently sit at 27 points). This game is one of multiple opportunities for Dallas to get ahead in the near future.
But these next few games aren’t going to be easy. In fact, the next couple of games on the Stars’ schedule will help paint a clear picture of where the team is at. That’s because the Dallas Stars will square off against their biggest weaknesses in the next week and a half.
The Dallas Stars have succeeded in the recent past, but struggled for a majority of the season. That’s why they sit at a record of 13-10-1. Among a few in-play issues, there are two primary factors giving the Stars grief: playing away from home and facing Central Division opponents.
Tonight, they will clash with both of those negatives. They will take on the Blackhawks in hopes of securing just their second Central win of the season. It will also be their first win in the division since October 14th.
Dallas holds an ugly 1-6-0 record against the Central this season and needs to build on it significantly. These next seven days could help specifically with that. The Stars’ next five games are all against Central Division opponents (Chicago x2, Colorado, Nashville, St. Louis). If Dallas can somehow pull out points in at least four of the five, they could come especially close to getting their record back to even at .500.
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But that’s not the only early-season enemy they are facing. Dallas will also hit the road on plenty of occasions. Over the next 17 days, the Dallas Stars will play seven of their 10 scheduled games away from the AAC. With a humbling record of 4-8-1 on the road this year, the Stars are looking to improve in any way possible.
They took a step in the right direction on Tuesday by besting Vegas in what turned out to be just the Knights’ second home loss on the year. But that success must carry over and they must find a way to replicate it.
The Dallas Stars have an opportunity to make something happen starting tonight. They are up against a two-headed demon (road and Central) and will look to exorcise it. They are finally (dare we say it) taking more than one step in the right direction at turning their season around. Things are starting to look up and the Stars are finally starting to look like a quality hockey team. But that has to continue happening.
Next: Playoff Games In November Will Help Stars Build Character
The Stars and Hawks always seem to make things interesting, and the pregame storyline is making this one all the more fun to follow. So tune in at 7:30 p.m. to watch all of the “end of November” action unfold.