Dallas Stars: The Ups, Downs, And In-Betweens Of October 2018
The Ups
Whether you noticed it or not, there were plenty of positives to take away from the Dallas Stars’ play in October. There were some obvious positives as well as some unexpected ones, and they helped the Stars get along in the month.
As a result, they kept themselves in the fight and made the first month entertaining to an extent. Let’s take a look at all of the team’s ups from month one.
Depth Scoring
As the Stars entered the 2018-19 regular season, one significant problem from the 2017-18 year continued to linger. That problem was depth scoring.
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Editor In Leaf
After lines 2-4 were practically non-existent for half of last year, Dallas entered the offseason with a chance to add some big names and bolster their offense. Instead, they ended up settling for veteran winger Blake Comeau and winger Valeri Nichushkin, who had just returned from the KHL.
They didn’t seem to be significant additions, leaving plenty of question and doubt about the team’s offensive production.
But through the first month, it was clear that the Stars’ depth problems from last season didn’t have to do with players; instead, it simply had to do with coaching.
Under Jim Montgomery, the Dallas Stars offense is rolling, specifically in terms of depth. Jason Spezza (10 points), Devin Shore (nine points), and Jason Dickinson (five points) have all come up huge for Dallas at certain points this season. In addition, players like Radek Faksa, Tyler Pitlick, and Blake Comeau are starting to come around after a slow start.
Even the Dallas defenders are chipping in on the scoresheet on a nightly basis. The Stars are getting production from outside their top line, and it’s the reason they are winning games more often than not.
No. 90
Though he was just mentioned above, something has to be said about the veteran center.
Throughout the first month (and even in the first few days of November), Jason Spezza looks like a brand new player. After eight goals, 26 points, and a -12 rating (all career-lows) in 2017-18, Spezza has completely revitalized his play.
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Through 13 games, he has three goals and ten points along with a +1 rating. He owns the highest face-off win percentage on the team. His production and playing time are both up and he’s proving to be a valuable asset in multiple situations, both on and off the ice.
Spezza is back for now, and the Dallas Stars are much better for it.
Penalty Kill Is Firing Away
When it comes to special teams, the Dallas Stars have been known for their strong and high-flying power play over the past few seasons. But through the first month, it was the penalty kill that took center stage.
The Stars boasted an 87.5 percent kill rate through the first month of the season. That’s good enough for fourth in the NHL. Only the Lightning, Coyotes, and Avalanche own better PK units.
After starting the year at a rough 70 percent success rate through four games, the Stars bounced back, killing 19 penalties in a row in the final five games of the month.
It’s been a good start to the year for the PK.
The Goalies Stepped Up
Through 11 games, the Dallas Stars used both of their goaltenders. Ben Bishop earned the nod in nine of the starts while Khudobin picked up two starts, and both goalies put on impressive shows.
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SenShot
Bishop went 5-4-0 in his starts, posting a .925 save percentage along with a 2.22 goals against average and one shutout in the season opener. It was one of the hottest starts of his career and gave the Stars a certain sense of newfound confidence in their starter.
Meanwhile, Khudobin went 1-1-0 with an .898 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average. But if you want to cheat a little and count the game on Nov. 1 as part of the October slate, Khudobin’s numbers jump to .923 SV% and 2.35 GAA.
Both goaltenders held the Stars in games on various occasions and were rarely to blame for a loss. This goaltending tandem could end up being one of the team’s biggest strengths this year. Stay tuned.
A New Style That Works
Over the past few seasons, the Dallas Stars have become used to the frustration of outshooting and outplaying their opponents, yet still finding ways to lose.
But as October came to a close, the Stars began playing with a new mindset. Instead of trying to overwhelm their opponents, Dallas played more systematically. They cashed in when they needed to, carefully picked apart their opposition, and shut the door when it mattered most.
All in all, the Stars turned over a new leaf and found a way to win games like they haven’t done before.
Capitalizing On Defense
The Dallas Stars defense was one of the team’s few bright spots during 2017-18. And through the first month of 2018-19, the blue line continues to impress.
The Stars currently own the fourth-best defense in the NHL. Through October, they averaged 2.72 goals against per game, one of the best averages in the league. And when considering the trials and changes they have faced, their performance becomes even more impressive. Read more about it here.
The Downs
While the positives do bring encouragement and positivity to the team and their outlook, there were a fair share of things that didn’t go according to plan.
Here are some things that didn’t work in the Stars’ favor and helped contribute to their five losses in the first month.
Struggling On The Road
When you take away the two straight road wins in early November, the Dallas Stars’ road game looks like a problem. And considering we are talking about only October, let’s assess their road problems.
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The Stars went 1-3-0 when away from home during October. That is a small sample size; but when you look at each game, you can see the problems.
In their three losses, the Stars were outscored 11-3. That includes being shutout by the New Jersey Devils and giving up at least three goals in each game. They even lost to the Detroit Red Wings, who owned the worst record in the NHL at the time.
They went winless on a back-to-back trip and consistently fell short against teams that they had the strength to beat. It looked to be more of a mental issue than anything, but Dallas couldn’t seem to get it right.
Their 4-1 win in Montreal at the end of the month has now translated into three straight road wins, and they finally seem to be going in the right direction after two straight seasons of road woes.
But through October, things definitely looked bleak.
Superstars Were Surprisingly Inconsistent
Through the first four games of the season, it looked as though the Dallas Stars would be dealing with the exact same offensive problems as they had trudged through in 2017-18. Those problems had to do with one-dimensional production.
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Blackhawk Up
Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, and John Klingberg combined for 14 goals and 31 points through the first four games of the season. Those are insane numbers, if you couldn’t already tell. 82.4 percent of the Stars’ goals in games 1-4 came from one of the names above.
But then, all of a sudden, there was a transition. The depth scoring all of a sudden became relevant and consistent, but the top dogs fell off in an unusual way.
In the final seven games of the month, the four names mentioned above only combined for three goals and 11 points. That’s only 17.6 percent of the team’s total goals. As a result, the Stars went 3-4-0 with their bottom three lines carrying the load.
So, where did it all go? That’s the question. The Stars’ superstar players hit a slump, which isn’t natural. Now, they have contributed two goals and five points in the first two games of November, so that could signal a turnaround. But the final few games of October were just odd not seeing Seguin, Benn, Radulov, or Klingberg littering the scoresheets.
Injuries Hurt
This one isn’t one that the Dallas Stars can control, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t holding them back.
In the first month of the regular season, the Stars had to play without starting defenseman Stephen Johns. Connor Carrick exited the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury in Detroit. Marc Methot was in and out of the lineup with a sore knee. And to top it all off, the Stars have been without superstar winger Alexander Radulov in six of the past seven games.
The injuries are dealing the Stars a certain dose of adversity, and they have responded rather well for the most part. But it’s always tough thinking about where this team could be with a fully healthy roster through one month.
The In-Betweens
While there were some obvious positives and glaring negatives through the first month for Dallas, there were also some “middle ground” aspects of their play. In other words, there were certain parts that weren’t bad, but could still be improved upon.
Let’s take a look at some of the in-betweens of October.
The Power Play
Now, let’s start this off by pointing out that the Dallas Stars own one of the better power plays in the NHL. Through October, they owned the seventh-best PP group with a 26.5 percent success rate. That’s great.
But the part that wasn’t so great was their inconsistency. After starting out strong in the first five games with a 46.6 percent success rate, Dallas slumped in the final six games, going 2/19 (10.5 percent). The problem there is that it happened during the Stars’ biggest losing skid of the month.
With the power play weapons that the Stars possess, it was difficult to see them miss out on critical opportunities and end up losing in games where a power play goal or two could have made the difference.
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Causeway Crowd
The power play is 0/4 so far through November, so this could be something to watch. Dallas has the weapons and proved early on that they have one of the best man advantages, but they have gone quiet recently.
Processing Monty’s Style
The Dallas Stars are currently in the middle of a transition period to a new era of hockey.
With the hiring of Jim Montgomery during the offseason, the Stars once again shifted their mindset and style of play. And through the first month, the transition looked decent.
The Stars had some impressively bright spots in the early portion of their regular season, winning three out of four. In those wins, they dominated on offense, played with composure on defense, and played with a relentless style overall.
But in their losses, they looked stale and somewhat confused in their effort. That must be fixed, and it should be in due time.
Through the first month, the Dallas Stars looked like a team potentially in store for big things. That is thanks in large part to Montgomery and the direction he is taking the team.
Central Division action
This is the smallest sampling size of all, but is still something to watch. The Dallas Stars went 1-1-0 in divisional play during the month of October. They blew out the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 in their second game of the year, but went flat in a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild midway through the month.
The consistency will have to be there eventually, but it’s a decent divisional start for Dallas. The divisional games will become tougher with each passing week and the race will become tighter, so the Stars will need to be on their A-game.
Next. Road Trip Starts Slow, Finishes Fast For Stars. dark
The Dallas Stars showed a lot of good things as well as some things that could be improved in their first month. As the year goes along, we’ll see what else we can add to this list and which parts might shift around.
All in all, it was an interesting first month. Let’s get it rolling in month two.