Dallas Stars: Four Things We Learned In November 2018

1. The Power Play Beckons For Klingberg

When John Klingberg exited the game against the San Jose Sharks early on Nov. 8, the Dallas Stars world collectively held its breath.

Klingberg, who has been known to be incredibly reliable and durable over the past few seasons, did not return to the game that ended in a 4-3 win for the Stars. But, the two points came at a severe cost.

Following the game, it was announced that Klingberg had suffered a hand injury that would require surgery. The timetable for recovery was pinned at one month, leaving Stars fans to worry about what a jam-packed November would look like without their all-star defender. Considering Dallas was barely in the playoff picture at the time with a 9-6-1 record, it was definitely a cause for anxiety.

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But throughout the past month, the Dallas Stars have done a decent job at managing the load. The  Stars gave up a total of 27 goals (2.70 GA/GP) through the final ten games of the month, with 25 of them coming in regulation (2.50 GA/GP). Considering over half of their starting defense was injured during the period, that’s a very respectable average.

There was also a decent influx of offense from the blue line to fill in for Klingberg’s absence, with Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen stepping up in the scoring department.

However, there was one area that ended up lacking throughout the month: the power play.

Through the first month of the season (16 games), the Dallas Stars posted a 23.8 percent success rate on the power play. That was good enough for 11th place in the NHL. But, since Klingberg’s injury, they have fallen to a 10.3 percent success rate, which pins them at 28th.

Klingberg (two goals, six points on the PP) has served as the quarterback of the Dallas power play for the past few seasons and is a key cog in their success on the man advantage. He plays a strong possession game, generates offensive chances, and directs traffic on the power play.

In his absence, the Dallas Stars are struggling heavily on the man advantage (3-29).

Klingberg likely won’t be back for at least the next two weeks, meaning the Stars will have to find a way to build some consistency on the power play while he continues to recover.

But, if we learned anything from the month of November, it’s that the Dallas Stars power play direly needs John Klingberg.