Dallas Stars: Recent Losses Not A Reason To Abandon Season

The Dallas Stars failed a critical test on Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets. And while they are in a bit of a rough patch, now is not the time to throw in the towel and abandon the season. It’s actually the complete opposite.

Sports are a funny thing. One day, a team can be riding a hot streak and look like one of the most dominant clubs in the league. But then another day, they can lose four of six and people are already looking ahead to next season. That seems to be what’s happening with the Dallas Stars right now.

Two weeks ago, the Dallas Stars were flying high. They had won five games in a row against quality opponents and looked like a team destined to make a run. The offense was putting up excellent numbers, the defense had turned into a top-five unit in the NHL, and the goaltending was a two-headed monster.

But then the Stars dropped a 6-0 bomb against the Vancouver Canucks and abruptly squashed their hot streak.

And that’s when things started going downhill. Since then, Dallas is 2-4-0. During the skid, they have given up 3.16 goals per game while only averaging 1.50 goals per game. The offense is flat, the defense is scattered, and the goaltending cannot seem to come up big on most nights.

Their most recent hit came on Saturday night in a 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. After defeating Los Angeles on Thursday night and taking a 1-0 lead into first intermission, the Stars looked as though they were back on track. But then they fell asleep in the second period, the Jets (who are a very good team) capitalized, and that was all she wrote.

And now the world seems to be ending for the Dallas Stars fan base. As I scrolled through Twitter on Saturday night, I was definitely caught off guard by some tweets posted by Stars fans.

These tweets ranged from talking about how this season was over, how the Stars were going to miss the playoffs, how the team should sell at the deadline since this group cannot get it done, and how Jim Nill should be fired in the offseason.

Not only are these tweets unexpected, but they are premature and illogical. I mean come on, people. Is this serious?

I was reminded a monologue made by the Joker in The Dark Knight. In it, he talks about how nobody panics when things go according to plan, but that everyone “loses their minds” when something unexpected happens that is not part of the plan. “Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos,” he said.

He has a point. The Dallas Stars got used to winning and being dominant and as a result, so did their fans.

From late November to now, the Stars have been one of the most exciting teams to watch across the league. They have reached new heights, turned their early season struggles into midseason successes, and have slowly risen in a stacked Western Conference playoff race.

It’s a playoff race that they are still very much in. Yes, the Stars have lost four of their last six games. And yes, the Stars only held onto third place for a few days after winning it from the Blues last Friday night. Now they sit in the first wild card spot and are two points from being outside the playoff picture.

But that’s no grounds to give up on the group now. This isn’t last season, after all.

During the 2016-17 season, the Dallas Stars slowly became more and more disappointing. By this point in last season, it was clear that the Stars were destined for an early offseason. With that being said, they accepted their fate, sold at the deadline, and began looking ahead. They followed the plan.

This year, however, chaos is erupting when it shouldn’t be.

Look back in December for example. The Stars posted another five-game win streak from Nov. 24 – Dec. 3, but followed it up with a three-game skid where they were heavily outdone by Western Conference opponents. Yet, no one was freaking out at that point like they seem to be now.

And yes, the stakes are higher at this point in the season. But that’s no reason to abandon hope altogether. Things aren’t following the established plan right now, but there’s no reason to jump ship and resort to worst-case scenarios. After the losing skid mentioned above, Dallas turned up the heat, posting a 6-2-1 mark to close out 2017. There’s no reason why they can’t do that again.

In all reality, this is just making the race more interesting for the Dallas Stars. They now have 20 games to go in the regular season. Though that may not seem like much, it’s still a quarter of the year. With that being said, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played.

And while this team has taken on some tough and demoralizing losses over the past two weeks, there’s plenty of time to shake them off. The Stars have done a good job all season at learning from their mistakes and bouncing back for a significant stretch.

Maybe it’s the fact that the trade deadline is a few hours away and the Stars are playing it quiet. Or maybe it’s because Dallas isn’t in third place in the division anymore (though they are only one point out). But whatever is causing Stars fans to hit the self-destruct button, it needs to stop.

Sure, their recent performances are cause for some form of panic. It’s definitely not the best time of the year to take on humbling losses. But there’s no reason to believe that they can’t do what they’ve done many times this season and turn the negative into positive.

The dance is just beginning for the Dallas Stars and they need their fans more than ever. This team is still very much alive in the playoff race and has a real shot at qualifying for the postseason. If they can work out a few kinks in their current play, they could quickly hop back on track and be threatening the top three teams yet again.

The Stars are going up against a loaded conference and a loaded division this season but are keeping themselves in the fight.

There’s a lot to keep watch on over the next few days. But as for right now, take a step back and survey the whole project. The season isn’t over and the Stars aren’t out of the playoff picture. With that being said, there is still plenty of excitement waiting down the road.

Don’t freak out just yet, Stars fans. This team is now facing the strongest adversity of their entire season. Their play is slipping and it’s causing them to fall in the standings. The next step is to see how they handle it on a long-term basis.

And you may be thinking, “Well, even if they make the playoffs, they will be a first-round exit at the hands of Nashville or Winnipeg.” While those are two very strong teams, anything can happen in the postseason. Remember when the “16-seed” Predators advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last year? Anything can happen once the dance begins.

We know how this Dallas Stars team can play. When they are clicking, they are one of the most frightening teams in the NHL. They’ve just hit a bump in the road and have to figure their way around it.

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But that’s no reason to abandon them. Give it some time and let the rest of the season play out. And chances are if the Stars can do what they’ve done with adversity all year and turn it into progress, you won’t be disappointed with the results.