Dallas Stars: What They Must Do To Sweep Their Upcoming Road Trip
The upcoming trip to the Northeast presents plenty of challenges for the Dallas Stars. But there is a good chance that they could win out on the four-game trip and come home with a new win streak. A few things need to happen, though.
The Dallas Stars are heading up north for colder temperatures and potentially a few wins in the coming week.
The Stars will kick off a four-game road trip in New York City tonight against the New York Rangers. They will then move on to the New York Islanders on Wednesday, New Jersey Devils on Friday, and finish the trip with the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
It’s a manageable stretch, but will by no means be an easy one. Part of that has to do with the competition they are up against, while the other part has to do with the Stars’ recent struggles.
It seems like just yesterday the Dallas Stars were riding a five-game win streak and were quickly catching fire. They looked like one of the best teams in the league as they dominated each matchup they came across in their schedule. The offense was electric, the defense was playing with confidence, and the goaltending was superb. It didn’t look as though anything would derail the Stars, at least entirely.
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That belief didn’t last long. The Stars went winless in the past week and have now lost three games in a row. They dropped decisions to the Predators, Blues, and Golden Knights, all three of which are Western Conference powerhouses. The losses proved that the Stars still have work to do. They also pushed Dallas to the brink of starting back at square one with a record that is just above .500.
The Dallas Stars are in need of some quick and efficient change. Something isn’t working in their scheme and it needs to be adjusted properly before it’s too late. The Stars aren’t in terrible standing, but they are quickly slipping from where they once sat.
Tonight is their first opportunity to end the losing skid and get back in the win column. It’s an opportunity at a fresh start on the road and could benefit the Stars greatly if they take advantage.
These next four games give Dallas an unprecedented chance to capitalize in the Eastern Conference and boost their own standing. But they have to know how to play each situation.
Here are some things that the Dallas Stars need to keep a keen eye out for on the upcoming road trip.
Monday Night: @ New York Rangers
NYR record this year: 16-11-2
Last five vs. Stars: 3-2-0
The Stars’ journey to a perfect road trip begins tonight at Madison Square Garden. It won’t be easy, though, as Dallas will go up against one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.
The Rangers are 7-2-0 in their last nine games and 12-4-0 since November 1. They are rolling with a lot of confidence and hitting their stride. They own one of the highest goal total averages in the NHL at 3.34, which is good enough for sixth in the league. Their defense averages 2.96 goals against per game, which is a bit high, but their offense has been able to compensate.
Dallas Stars
New York is currently sitting just one point outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with 34 points. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins, but have two games in hand to work with. They will spend one of those tonight against Dallas.
The Rangers started the season looking like a sad shell of what they have looked like over the past few seasons. They began the season at a 2-6-2 record and could not seem to keep the opposition below 3-4 goals per game.
But their luck seems to have turned at the right moment, and things are starting to look up. Michael Grabner is pacing the team with 14 goals while Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 24 points.
The Stars have struggled in the recent past against the Rangers, but seem to find relative success when at Madison Square Garden. Last season, they won a 7-6 shootout at MSG after squandering multiple three-goal leads.
Tonight, Dallas will be back in NYC for another round with the Rangers. Here are some keys to a potential victory:
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Editor In Leaf
Kari Lehtonen needs to be on
The Dallas Stars are leaning on the hand of Kari Lehtonen for the second time in three games tonight. After starter Ben Bishop sacrificed four goals on 38 shots to Vegas on Saturday, Hitchcock will go with the backup route.
Lehtonen has put up good numbers considering the situations he has been put in this season. He has a .903 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average while mainly having to provide a safety net for a struggling Stars team in front of him.
Against the Rangers, he is 7-6-1 all-time with a .922 save percentage and 2.53 GAA. He’s proven to be a capable net-minder in times of crisis this season and should give the Stars a chance to take some momentum and control the game.
But it’s only if he is on. Lehtonen can sometimes be a “hit or miss” goalie between the pipes, so a lot will rely on his focus and composure against a high-powered Rangers offense.
Ondrej Pavelec needs to be off
There is something really odd about the Dallas Stars’ 2017-18 season in regards to the goaltenders they face. On some nights, they will take it to a starting goaltender and even force a goalie change. But when they go up against a backup, things seem to tilt in the wrong direction.
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Take two of the past three games for example. In the games against both Nashville and Vegas, the Stars went up against a backup goaltender. Specifically against Vegas, the Stars took on a fourth-string goaltender. The average save percentage of the two goaltenders was a .940.
The Stars put up a total of 84 shots against these two teams but came away with zero points. A large part of their losses were due to the superb play of the opposing goalies.
Dallas needs to figure out how to put up goals on backup goaltenders and they need to figure it out quick. Tonight, they will face Ondrej Pavelec, the backup to Henrik Lundqvist. If the Stars can crack him early, they might have a chance at keeping the lead and putting these backup goalie worries to rest.
Overall
If the Stars can come out of the gate with confidence, focus, and energy, they should have a chance at making this Monday night show work in their favor. It all depends on if they can bring back the effort from their five-game win streak. That’s the key.
Wednesday Night: @ New York Islanders
NYI record this year: 16-10-3
Last five vs. Stars: 3-2-0
Two days after the bout at MSG, the Stars will travel to Brooklyn to take on the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center.
The Islanders, like Dallas, have started the season on a “little above average” note. They are holding their own and sitting in the first wild card spot, but there is always room for improvement. The Stars know that, and so do the Islanders. Both teams will be looking for that improvement on Wednesday night.
New York Islanders
The Islanders are one of the most unbalanced teams in the league. Their offense is putting up an insane 3.55 goals per game (second in the NHL), but their defense is slowing them down by giving up 3.37 goals per game (third in the NHL). Can you say 2014-15 Dallas Stars?
It is putting the Islanders in a bit of an awkward position as they try and move forward in their season. This should fare well for a Dallas offense that knows how to score, but could cause problems for a shaky Stars defense if they are not confident going into the game.
The Stars and Islanders will meet up for the second and final time this season on Wednesday night. Their first meeting went heavily in favor of Dallas by a final score of 5-0. The Stars put up three goals in a little over a 15-minute span in the first period and never looked back. They made their shots count, with five different Stars scoring on 29 total shots.
The defense also held strong, giving up a season-low 14 shots against and granting Ben Bishop an easy path to his first shutout as a Dallas Star.
The Islanders strung together a four-game win streak to close out November, but have dropped four of their first five games in December. That being said, they have a lot of similarities with Dallas in terms of consistently being inconsistent.
It’s not going to be an easy game to navigate since both teams will be searching for a way to get back on track. But if the Stars can bring a similar effort as they did in their last matchup and overpower the Islanders in the head-to-head battles, they have a good chance to make it two in a row (assuming they beat NYR).
Friday Night: @ New Jersey Devils
NJ record this season: 16-9-4
Last five vs. Stars: 2-3-0
Following the New York stay, the Stars will make the short journey to Newark, New Jersey where they will take on the Devils.
The Devils are arguably the biggest surprise team in the NHL this year (besides Vegas, of course). After finishing near the bottom of the standings last year, NJ luckily received the no. 1 pick in the NHL Draft Lottery.
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But after a relatively quiet offseason, there weren’t many buying into the Devils doing anything special in the 2017-18 season. Yet, here they are.
New Jersey currently sits third in the Metropolitan Division and is a mere three points out of first place. They have stormed out of the gate this season and are cashing in on almost every opportunity.
That being said, the Dallas Stars will not be getting an easy pass on this one. The Devils have lost three of their past four and will play the Stars on the second night of a back-to-back, but their ability to rebound from losses is promising.
New Jersey is near the middle of the NHL stat sheet in both categories, scoring three goals per game and giving up 3.06.
It’s another perfect opportunity for the Stars’ offense to spring into action and get some valuable reps. But, like against the Islanders, the defense will need to be watchful and weary of how the Devils use their offensive attack.
Either way, expect this to be a fun Friday night game.
Saturday Night: @ Philadelphia Flyers
PHI record this season: 11-11-7
Last five vs. Stars: 1-4-0
If you thought the Dallas Stars were the best team at being consistently inconsistent, think again.
The Philadelphia Flyers started the season on a 4-2-0 note and played at a pretty decent pace, but tragedy struck in mid-November. The Flyers went from November 11 to December 2 without finding the win column.
As a result, they began to dip in the standings. They went 0-5-5 over the span, getting five of a possible 20 points. It looked as though the Flyers were quickly becoming a lost cause in the Eastern Conference.
But now they are storming back. Philly has won its past three games by a combined score of 13-5. All three games came on the road and led up to a five-game homestand that they will begin on Tuesday night against Toronto.
Their numbers are relatively average like the Stars, with a 2.86 GFA and 2.89 GAA. But the biggest thing is that the Flyers are unpredictable. One game they might blow out the opponent, while the next they may struggle to stay afloat.
Either way, this game will be pretty evenly matched between the Stars and Flyers.
Next: Recent Losses Paint Accurate Picture Of Where Stars Stand
This four-game road trip will offer the Dallas Stars a chance to clear their heads and push the past behind them. But they must make sure that it does not creep back in and take them by surprise. This is a big opportunity for Dallas to turn the tide on their recent misfortunes and potentially push themselves into the top three in the Central.
But it’s all up to how they handle it. Mindset is everything.