Dallas Stars: Assessing What Is Going Wrong In Playoff Push

Another “must-win” game for the Dallas Stars passed by on Friday night and the Stars once again came up short. It’s become a serious problem and now has the team pinned with no more ground to give.

It’s been eight days since the Dallas Stars won their last game. While that may not seem like an incredibly long period of time, it definitely takes on more significance when you realize that the winless streak stretches across four games.

The Stars had yet another great opportunity to win a big game on Friday night. They squared off with a struggling Ottawa Senators team that sits in the bottom five in the NHL standings with two huge points on the line.

But instead of capitalizing and picking up two points, they choked. After scoring an early power play goal, Dallas shifted back into neutral and the Senators pounced on the opportunity. Ottawa scored two goals to take a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes to go in the game. Luckily for the Stars, Tyler Pitlick found a way to score on a circus shot and send the game to overtime. But Mike Hoffman scored the game-clinching goal and gave Ottawa the last laugh and the second point.

While the one point helped Dallas stay somewhat afloat in the playoff race, it also brought them into a more compromised position. And in all honesty, the Stars didn’t fully deserve the two points. Dallas should have never been in a “score or go home” situation in the final minutes of the third period against a lacking and defeated Ottawa club that’s been out of the playoff conversation for months now.

More from Analysis

For the third time in twelve days, the Stars didn’t pick up two points in a game against a team outside the playoff picture. That’s not what playoff-caliber teams do in the homestretch of the regular season.

The overtime loss pinned Dallas with a frustrating 1-3-3 record over the past 12 days and once again inched them closer to being outside of the playoff picture. They just cannot seem to get it right now that it matters most and it’s close to becoming fatal.

So that’s the question: what is wrong with the Dallas Stars right now? They look to be lacking severely in energy, focus, and overall effort. This team simply doesn’t look as though they want to win the crucial games.

In every postgame interview, the players and coaches talk about how they didn’t do enough to win the game and that they would have it fixed by the next contest. But then the next contest comes around and it’s more of the same.

What’s up? Is it due to the fatigue that’s appeared as part of this long road trip? Or maybe they just haven’t matched up well against their recent opponents? What if this is just a result of the Stars’ level of focus dipping? Could it also be that they’ve forgotten how to close out games?

All three of the theories above may be true. But if they are, that’s still bad news for the Stars. The problem is that playoff teams don’t fall to any of the potential blockades above. They fight through fatigue, find a way to match up well against every opponent, always stay focused, and know how to throw down the hammer.

The Dallas Stars are doing something wrong right now, and it’s hurting them severely. After last night’s loss and Anaheim’s win over Detroit, the Stars, Avalanche, and Ducks are in a three-way tie for the final two wild card spots.

So while you may look at the standings and see that the Stars are still technically in the second wild card spot, there’s a bigger lesson to be learned here: Dallas has no more breathing room.

For the past two weeks, the Dallas Stars have slowly squandered away their lead in the first wild card spot. That’s what happens when you get five of a possible 14 points over seven games. Not only is Dallas now in the second wild card spot, but they have no space between them and a team on the outside of the playoff picture. The only thing separating the two is ROWs (regulation or overtime wins) which is the tiebreaker.

Dallas Stars

But that won’t last long, as we’ve already seen. The Stars are now dangling over the edge and could fall off the top of the mountain within the next two or three days. While that may be crazy to imagine, that’s the way it is.

And the Stars really have nothing to blame but their own play. They look disinterested on the ice. They are constantly playing to the caliber of their opponents and it’s hurting them severely.

They may be tired from the long road trip, but every team is tired right now. There’s 10 games left in the season and the end is in sight. But the playoff push is still very much alive, and the other teams around Dallas seem to want a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth more at the moment.

The problem with the Stars seems to be that they just don’t want it anymore. This team has shown on many occasions this season that they have the talent required to run with the best teams in the league. But at the moment, they cannot even seem to muster up enough energy to compete with the worst teams in the league. That’s their problem.

Over the final ten games, Dallas will face nine teams either currently sitting in or fighting for a playoff spot. That being said, there will not be a “cake walk” game. The Stars had their chances to pick up those “cake walk” points this week and missed them entirely. Now it’s up to them to get on the horse and readjust.

There’s nothing left to be said. It’s gotten to a point where Dallas just doesn’t have as much energy or passion as the teams around them. Maybe they find it in the coming week and pull off an impressive stretch. Or maybe they continue faltering and find themselves far from the race by the end of the week.

Next: The Emotional Thrill Ride Of Dallas Stars Hockey

At this point in the season, it’s all about who wants it the most. The Dallas Stars don’t seem to want it as much as their competitors at the moment. Can they find a way to change that mindset before time runs out? We’ll see starting tomorrow in Winnipeg.