Is there a chance we can go back to 2017? The Dallas Stars started their 2018 campaign off tonight with a stale and weak 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. While the opportunity for Dallas to win seemed to be there, they just couldn’t find it.
It wasn’t the greatest start to the New Year for the Dallas Stars. And this is coming from a team that bested the San Jose Sharks 6-0 just two days ago.
After spending two periods playing what can be described as dry and emotionless hockey, the Stars found a 1-0 lead in the third period. But for the first time in what seems like a long time, they couldn’t hold onto it.
Dallas fell 2-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets and officially started their 2018 off on a sour note.
Game recap
It was a quite first period, with neither team putting up many quality chances on offense. Besides a Jamie Benn penalty that the Stars killed, there wasn’t much to follow. The Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets entered the first intermission in a 0-0 tie.
Dallas Stars
The second period was exactly like the first, only there were no penalties. A quiet period with very few chances for either side ended the second frame in a 0-0 tie once again between the two teams.
The third period offered a change of pace. Devin Shore deflected a John Klingberg shot past Sergei Bobrovsky just 44 seconds into the third period to take the 1-0 lead for the Dallas Stars. But it would quickly be negated entirely by Oliver Bjorkstrand. He scored two goals within two minutes of each other to give Columbus the 2-1 lead. The Stars pulled Ben Bishop with 1:30 left but couldn’t find the tying goal. They fell 2-1 to the Blue Jackets and snapped a four-game winning streak at home.
Thoughts and Observations
New year, new me? Let’s hope not
This was just a weird game from the very beginning. The word “stale” or “bland” may also be used when describing tonight’s affair.
The Stars took seven shots in the first period and ended the night with 22 total, their second lowest shot total this season. While their defense played relatively well, the offense and goaltending looked like entirely different groups.
The offense lacked any sort of intensity and didn’t generate more than two or three quality scoring chances in the game. Coming from a team that is used to scoring three or four goals a night and keeping the defense on their heels, this was a bit of a shock.
Ben Bishop gave up two goals, but neither one looked entirely “superb.” He missed the first one after a broken play by Stephen Johns and the defense and missed the second one on a shot that almost came from the goal line on his glove side. There were no screens, deflections, or one-timers about them. They just found a way in.
“I think it was a chess match there for the first couple of periods and we were feeling each other out,” said goaltender Ben Bishop. “I think it was a missed opportunity for us to go out there and take over the game. We just hung in there and obviously we got the lead there, but I have to find a way to stop those two goals so we don’t lose the game.”
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Stars as whole just seemed to skate a step behind the pace they had closed out 2017 with. Heck, it may have even been four or five steps behind. There seemed to be a lack of effort and a complete lack of emotion in the Stars’ game that they had established as a regular part of their play over the past few games.
Watch out for that New Year’s hangover
It’s a common thread in the Dallas Stars’ organization to start out the New Year on a slow note. They have done it for the past few seasons and cannot seem to get over it.
But, unlike in past years, they cannot afford to go into a slump at this point in the season. In previous years, the Stars have either already been behind in the race or had a significant cushion in the standings.
Right now, however, they are neck and neck with multiple teams for a handful of spots. And while they are still in the playoff standings, one or two losses could change the picture. That would be a difficult way to go for a team that has worked extremely hard just to build a measly three-point lead in the first wild card spot.
“We didn’t really have it all night,” said Devin Shore. “There wasn’t a great flow to the whole game, but there’s going to be games like that. And yeah, they responded well after we scored and that’s on us. But we didn’t continue or keep the pressure going, and they made us pay for it.”
Editor In Leaf
John Klingberg keeps on rolling
If there was a bright spot in tonight’s game, it was the play of John Klingberg. The 25-year-old Swede tallied a primary assist on the Stars’ lone goal and bumped his point total on the year to 35. He still leads all NHL defensemen in points tallied by four and continues to improve his game. He’s become one of the Stars’ best defensemen this season in both ends of the ice and could be a clear favorite for the All-Star game at the end of the month.
A lack of special teams
Tonight’s game lasted around two hours and twenty minutes. That’s pretty short for an NHL game, and it was due to a few different reasons.
While the Stars and Blue Jackets only combined for three stoppages of play due to goals, there was not really any special teams presence. Only one penalty was called in the entire game, and it came against Jamie Benn in the first period.
Other than that, there was no other chance at a power play goal or shorthanded kill.
An ugly differential when it matters most
The Dallas Stars, whether you know it or not, have some third period problems. After tonight’s breakdown, the Stars increased their goal differential in the third period to -13. While they outscore their opponents pretty significantly in the first two periods (+9 in first period, +11 in second period), the third is where they seem to melt down.
The Stars do know how to rebound, though. Just five days ago, they rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final six minutes of the third period to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2. Tonight, the energy to come back simply wasn’t there.
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“I think it’s two different scenarios,” said Bishop. “We played really well against St. Louis. We were just kind of playing to play tonight. We didn’t take over or play the way we are capable of. We had another notch there but I don’t think we ever really got there. It’s kind of unfortunate because on home ice you want to find a way to get points and tonight was maybe a missed opportunity.”
An off night in the stats, too
The Dallas Stars’ stat sheet looked rather odd tonight as well. While John Klingberg led the team in ice time and tallied an assist (which are pretty normal for no. 3), the rest of the stat leaders were interesting.
Antoine Roussel and Tyler Seguin led all Stars players in shots on goal with three. Some typical shot leaders include Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Alexander Radulov. But no. 21 seemed to be the frontrunner on offense for Dallas tonight along with his line.
And can you take a guess as to which Stars player led the team in hits? Stephen Johns? Greg Pateryn? Maybe Roussel? All of those guesses would be incorrect.
The leader in hits turned out to be Seguin. A speedy center who is known for generating offense and scoring goals led the team in a category of physicality. Go figure.
All in all, it was a weird night.
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Everyone has to nail it down
The Stars needed a three-sided effort tonight against a good Columbus team, but they didn’t really get much effort from any of their groups. It was a defensive struggle, but was more so a struggle to find energy or motivation. The Stars didn’t have that extra step, and that’s what hurt them.
“I didn’t think we played great, but we had a 1-0 lead in the third period and that’s exactly where you want the game,” said Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock. “This is disappointing. Some days are perfect and some days aren’t. But to have a 1-0 lead in your own building and give up the two goals is disappointing.”
“Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” said Hitchcock about if there was anything specifically that the Stars did wrong. “You have to hammer it down.”
No time to even blink
The Dallas Stars, for another consecutive night, did not receive much help in the standings.
There is currently only a six-point spread between the Stars (who sit in the first wild card spot) and the Winnipeg Jets (who sit atop the Central Division). But three teams sit between the Stars and the top spot.
Things get even more tight when you look below Dallas. There is currently only a five-point spread between the Stars and the fourth-worst team in the Western Conference (currently being Calgary). Five teams sit in that chasm just below the Stars.
Another problem is that all of those teams below the Stars have at least one, two, or three games in hand on Dallas. So, realistically, those teams all have a good chance at dethroning the Stars.
It’s crazy to think that even after a 6-2-2 stretch and some impressive wins over good teams (not to mention their 22-16-3 record), the Dallas Stars could still be out of a playoff spot by the end of the week.
“We’ll look in the mirror at a few things there, but we have to turn it around quick and can’t dwell on it,” said Shore.
The Stars’ next test comes on Thursday night when they welcome a good New Jersey Devils club to the AAC.
“We have to move on from every game,” said Stars defenseman Stephen Johns. “You have to move on and we have a good team coming in here in a few days. It’s a tough one and it stings right now, but we’ll learn from it and move on quick.”
Next: Halfway There: What We Know About The Stars So Far
Let’s see if they can bounce back and get their first win of the New Year in two days.
One thing is for sure: if they play the exact opposite of how they did tonight effort-wise, they should have a pretty good shot.