Dallas Stars Having Trouble Putting All Their Strengths Together

The Dallas Stars are not a bad team. We know that. But the majority of their struggles this season can be traced to not getting all of their strengths firing at the same time in a game. That has to be fixed soon.

Every NHL team has one specific strength that they are known for. Some teams have high-caliber offenses, while others are known for their defensive success, and some are famous for their goaltending. But the really good teams are the ones with solid groups in all three categories. Believe it or not, the Dallas Stars are one of those teams.

Yes, the Stars have lost two games in a row. And yes, they are currently in the first wild card spot with a wide gap separating them from first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. So can they really be considered that great of a team?

Absolutely they can. Throughout the 2017-18 season, the Dallas Stars have shown their capabilities and strengths on offense, defense, and in net. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance from all three groups during the year.

From Dec. 19 to Feb. 9, the Dallas offense scored 76 goals in 22 games. That’s an average of 3.45 goals per game, which is an incredible average. And considering the sampling size is more than a quarter of the entire season, it’s obvious that the offense can do some damage when they are clicking.

Dallas Stars

The defense, on the other hand, was porous and ineffective in the first month of the season. Things looked bleak and the Stars were sitting in 26th in goals against average throughout the league at one point. Now the defense is the fourth-best in the NHL, giving up just 2.60 goals per game. In today’s game of high-flying offenses, a comeback of this caliber seems almost impossible.

And then there’s the goaltenders. Though he hits some rough patches at times, Ben Bishop has done an outstanding job as the starter for the Stars this season. Kari Lehtonen is also running the show in the backup role and dominating the crease as of late. Both goalies buy the team in front of them a chance to win in just about every game, making key saves and keeping the Stars in the race.

All three areas of the Stars’ game have significantly improved from last season. Each one knows how to run with the best competition in the NHL and has proven it over the first 67 games of the season. That’s a large reason in why the Stars sit at a record of 37-24-6 and in the middle of the playoff race at the moment.

But there’s one problem: we very rarely see all three of these brilliant groups coexisting at the same time in a given game. That’s where the struggle ensues. While it’s nice to be in the thick of the postseason race, the Stars have the tools to be in a more secure spot in the standings. But they just cannot seem to get all of those tools working at the same time.

In the first two or three months of the season, the offense had no problems with finding the back of the net. But the blue line and goaltending were still trying to find their respective grooves, so that helped stall the Stars from reaching their maximum potential. But now things seem to have flipped.

Over the past month, this trend is becoming prevalent. During the month of February, the Dallas Stars had the best defense statistically. They owned the lowest GAA of any team in the league with a mark of 2.25. The defense showed structure, poise, and effectiveness while the goaltending was a two-headed monster that was firing on all cylinders.

But the offense had a fair share of struggles. They were shutout in two of their 12 games last month and averaged a measly 2.50 goals per game, which was good enough for 26th in the NHL. The trend has continued into March as well, with the Stars scoring eight goals in their first four games along with being shutout by the Predators on Tuesday night.

Where did the offense go? That’s a good question, but something definitely needs to be done and quick if the Stars want to get back on track.

It’s all about finding that balance. If the Stars can bring all three strengths to each game, there’s no doubt that they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams across the NHL. After all, this is arguably the most talented team Dallas has fronted in a long time.

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They have accomplished this feat in certain instances during the season already, and the results have been heavily favorable. Take the game against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 23 as an example. The Dallas offense was on fire both at even strength and on special teams and put up 39 shots, the defense gave up few quality chances on 34 shots, and Ben Bishop turned aside all but one of them. The Stars won the game 6-1.

We must give credit where it’s due, but it only further proves the point of their potential.

When this team fires on all cylinders, they can be one of the most feared teams in the league. A fully-functioning 2017-18 Dallas Stars team is something that no team wants to face. But they first must find out how to click in all three areas in each and every game. If they don’t, they will continue this “hot and cold” limp to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And if they make it in, they won’t last long if only one or two areas are producing. That’s a guarantee.

But at the moment, the Stars’ biggest problem across the season is not necessarily their offensive struggles, lack of depth scoring, or anything else along those lines. It’s simply accessing their dominance in each area throughout each contest.

Lately, the offense is lagging while the defense and goaltending are holding down the fort. On Tuesday night, the Dallas defense and goaltending held off one of the hottest offenses in the league for 50 minutes before surrendering one goal. But the offense could not find the back of the net through the entire game and ended up on the wrong end of a 2-0 result. An offensive revival is necessary at the moment, but that must come with consistent success on the blue line and in the crease as well.

Next: Stars Getting Well-Deserved Rest Before Final Push

Whatever the problem is, the Stars need to find a quick solution. And once that happens, this team can and will be a dangerous group to face.

Over the final 15 games, it will be up to Dallas to find this happy balance where all three areas harmonize and gel. Their playoff hopes could very well depend on it.