With four consecutive Central Division opponents on tap, the next few days could be very critical for the Dallas Stars. It’s important that they find a way to beat the red-hot Blackhawks and start the stretch with a win.
The Dallas Stars (18-14-3) play eight of their next nine games at the American Airlines Center. They are 10-4-1 at home this year. That’s the good news.
The not-so-good news is that their next four games are against Central Division opponents. It is a great chance for the team to get ahead, but also a great chance to fall behind. It’s all about how they fare.
They start this four-game stretch tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks (17-11-5). Though they already own a 2-0-0 record against the Hawks this year, this is a different situation.
When the Stars last played the Hawks, it was in a home-and-home setting on November 30 and December 2. Dallas claimed a 4-3 and 3-2 victory on the two occasions, with both coming in overtime. The two wins contributed to the Stars’ season-long five-game winning streak. On the other side, the losses contributed to a five-game losing skid for Chicago and helped pin them in the bulk of the Western Conference standings.
Dallas Stars
Now they sit tied with Dallas for the final wild card spot with 39 points. What happened?
Well, a five-game win streak for Chicago that is still intact happened.
“I think you look at the last five games Chicago played,” Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “They scored 18 goals and they’ve allowed seven. That gets your attention right now. When you only allow seven goals in five games and you go 5-0 against tough opponents, that’s pretty impressive.”
The Blackhawks are flying at a fast pace all of a sudden. Since December 8, they have bested the Sabres, Coyotes, Panthers, Jets, and Wild. Patrick Kane and Tommy Wingels are leading the charge, with each scoring four goals in the past few games.
The Hawks look like a completely different team than they did three weeks ago when the Stars duked it out with them. Even then, each game was a tough W for Dallas. Tonight’s game will likely see an entirely new energy level from Chicago as they look to one-up the Stars and solidify their spot in the playoff race.
“They’ve retooled even since we played them,” Hitchcock said. “They changed and they have retooled, and obviously they have brought in even more quicker players. It will be a tough out for us tonight.”
Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars are on a three-game losing skid and boast a 2-1-2 record over their last five games. It’s been a rough outing for a Stars team that really should not have gone 2-1-2 in their past five.
“It’s the little details,” said Stars center Radek Faksa. “We have to be smarter in the end of the games and do the little things a little different. We could easily have won five in a row because we played really good and played the system that coach wants. I feel like doing that every game for a whole 60 minutes, we have a chance to win every game.”
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The Stars started last week’s road trip off on a high note, beating both the Rangers and Islanders with dominant performances. It all came to a halt on Friday night when they lost to the Devils in a 5-2 finish that was much closer than the score indicates. One night later, Dallas took one too many penalties and couldn’t close out an overtime finish against the Flyers.
And then we have Tuesday night. Dallas gave one of their best efforts of the season against an incredibly powerful and strong Washington Capitals lineup and looked to have a 3-2 win in the bag, but little mistakes ended up leading to a 4-3 overtime loss.
“We’re playing good now,” Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. “If we take the lead, we have to be able to protect the lead. You saw last game, they scored right away after we scored. That should never happen, especially not with three minutes left in the game, so that needs to be better.”
Chicago Blackhawks
The Dallas Stars will square up with the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in a bit of a role reversal game from the last time they faced each other. Whenever these two teams meet up (specifically over the past few years), there always seems to be a new sense of energy and emotion. It has been evident over the past few seasons and even in the first two meetings this season.
“I would say it’s a rivalry, you know? There’s always a lot of Chicago fans here, so there’s a lot of emotions in the game,” Faksa said. “You can feel it through the crowd, especially me. I like games like that because they motivate me and I give my best.”
It’s not going to be an easy game by any means, but could have a major payoff if the Stars can find a way to outdo the Hawks.
“We just have to stick to our game plan,” Klingberg said. “We played against them two games already, so they probably want some redemption. They lost two in overtime, and now we’ve lost two in overtime now in a row as well. I feel like both teams are going to feel like they have to go for the two points to get closer in the standings.”
Though the Stars still have 46 games in their season including tonight’s, the playoff hunt is already ongoing. Dallas currently sits just outside of the second wild card spot with 39 points. The Hawks are holding the first wild card spot with 39 points as well. There are five points separating the first wild card spot from third-to-last place in the West, so things are about as close as they can get.
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“It’s a huge game,” Faksa said. “It’s divisional, so it’s a four-point game. I think it’s one of the most important games in the season because you have a really good chance to get closer to a playoff spot. After New Year’s, if you aren’t in a playoff spot, it’s hard to catch it. Last year, we were trying to catch it and we never did, so it’s really hard.”
This is the first game in a long and dangerous stretch for the Dallas Stars. They play four divisional opponents over their next four games, including the Blackhawks, Predators, Wild, and Blues. All four are either ahead of or right next to Dallas in the standings. Each game could hold a critical role in determining how the standings line up come April. Succeeding in your own division is crucial to a successful season, but the Stars are still searching for answers (4-8-0 against Central teams).
“It’s really big,” Klingberg said. “These are the games we need to win to get a playoff spot again, so it’s going to be huge for us. It will probably be the biggest stretch so far this season.”
Things are about to get very quick and very direct in the Dallas Stars schedule. After struggling for a few games, it will be up to them to quickly shake off the rust and lock in for the games ahead. If they do, they could be flirting with a top-three spot in the division soon.
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If they don’t, they could quickly put themselves on track for another year of disappointing finishes. That being said, a win is pretty critical. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. from the American Airlines Center tonight. A five-game win streak going up against a three-game skid with playoff picture implications on the line. How’s that for a holiday treat?
One thing is for sure: something has got to give.