Dallas Stars Show That They Are Threat To NHL In Win Over Pittsburgh

The Dallas Stars are riding their hottest streak of the regular season right now. It can no longer be denied: the Stars are a serious problem for the rest of the NHL.

Around 3:30 a.m. on Friday morning, the Dallas Stars landed at the airport in Big D. They had just defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at the United Center a few hours prior, but had some issues with the weather and stayed in Illinois for longer than expected before taking off.

They arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning and cancelled their morning skate as a result. In the moment, it may not have seemed like the smartest idea. That’s because of what awaited them on Friday night in the final test of their back-to-back.

What awaited them on home ice was a red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins team. The Pens had won 10 of their past 13 games, owned one of the league’s hottest offenses since the start of 2018, and had ascended from outside the playoff picture to second place in their division in a matter of weeks. Everything was going right for the back-to-back champions.

And while the Stars were riding a four-game win streak of their own, their play in the second half of a back-to-back setting this season was pretty average. In addition to that, Dallas was also somewhat sleep-deprived and made some lineup changes before the game. It was shaping up to be quite an interesting test for a somewhat weary Dallas Stars team.

Dallas Stars

The first 11 minutes of the game were owned by Pittsburgh. Riley Sheahan scored with 10:53 to go in the period to take the 1-0 lead. Carl Hagelin followed it up with a shorthanded goal off of a costly turnover by John Klingberg less than two minutes later to take a 2-0 lead for the Pens.

Dallas looked as though they had finally run out of gas. They seemed to be running on fumes and were desperately searching for answers.

But then it happened. As they have done in each of the past few games, the Stars broke out of a slow start and took control. Tyler Seguin scored late in the first period to cut the deficit in half. After managing the tempo throughout the second and third periods, John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis tallied goals within 4:01 of each other in the third to give Dallas the 3-2 lead.

Though the Stars gave up a goal at 6-on-5 and had to go all the way to a shootout, they found a way to pull out two points. Yes, a tired and seemingly flat Dallas Stars team rallied back and picked up another win. It was a character victory and also helped verify a now undeniable fact: the Stars are officially a problem for the rest of the NHL.

The Stars have won five games in a row, Kari Lehtonen is 5-0-0 in his last five starts, and Tyler Seguin has at least one goal in each of his past five games. Dallas is the only team in the NHL with four players above the 50-point mark and now sit at a record of 33-19-4 on the season with 70 points and 26 games to go in the season.

Those can all be considered common symptoms of a threatening team.

After starting the season on an unexpectedly average note, the Dallas Stars have been on quite the journey. At one point, they were 10-10-0 and sitting outside of the playoff picture. Over the past few months, however, they have bounced around the wild card race and kept themselves in the running.

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Now, they are beginning to cash in when it matters most. The Stars are firing on all cylinders as of late. Their offense is clicking and all four lines are contributing on a regular basis. Their defense has allowed the fifth-least goals of any NHL team this season at a baffling 2.55 GA/GP. The special teams units are also finding new success as of late.

In the crease, the Dallas Stars seem to have one of the best goaltending duos in the league. Ben Bishop is 10-5-2 since December 19 and has only posted a save percentage below .900 in four of those contests. Over the past five games, he owns a .938 save percentage and 2.20 goals against average.

Kari Lehtonen, on the other hand, continues to flourish in the backup role. Lehtonen is 10-5-1 on the season, including a 5-0-0 mark over the past 25 days. He owns a .919 save percentage and 2.26 GAA on the season, but has generated impressive and almost unbelievable results over the past few games.

The Dallas Stars as a whole are just clicking at an incredibly stable rate right now. In the past eight days, their opponents have increased in difficulty. But the Stars have been ready to take on each challenge.

A perfect example of that is a streak that was broken in last night’s game. Going into the game, the Stars were 0-14-1 when trailing after two periods, while the Penguins were an undefeated 17-0-0 when leading after two periods. Dallas entered the third in a 2-1 hole but came out of it with a 4-3 victory. They found a way to dig in against one of the hottest teams in the league and fight through their tiredness to come away with a victory in the most unlikely of fashions.

That’s a sign of resilience, but it’s also a sign of dominance.

Whether you are already sold on the fact or are still contemplating, there’s no use in debating it anymore. The Stars are quickly becoming a problem for not only the Western Conference, but also the NHL. This team knows how to fight back against whatever is thrown their way and come out on top. Not many teams know how to do that on a consistent basis.

The Dallas Stars are proving with each passing game that they are a force to be reckoned with. They may still be in the first wild card spot, but they are showing that they can compete with any opponent.

There is a little less than two months left in the 2017-18 regular season. The Dallas Stars have this time to continue improving their play and building up their morale and fire.

If they keep going at their current pace, the Stanley Cup Playoffs should be a very entertaining exercise.

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Whatever happens, just know that the Stars are running the show right now. Everything seems to be going right and the team is reaching new heights with each win. The Dallas Stars could very well be the hottest team in a jam-packed NHL right now. That’s no small matter and should not be taken lightly.

All they have to do now is keep climbing.