Dallas Stars: What We Learned In First Half Of 2018-19 Season

Monty Doing Alright, But Could Still Use An Identity

“This team needs to figure out their identity.”

If that isn’t one of the most truthful and yet frequently overused cliches in the Dallas Stars organization, I don’t know what is.

But it still rings true even in this 2018-19 campaign. The Stars have done some good things at times, but bad things at others. They have solved some of their early season problems, but others still linger. So, exactly what kind of team is this Dallas Stars group? That’s what they are trying to figure out, and it all starts behind the bench.

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Jim Montgomery has done a pretty good job through the first half of his “rookie year” as an NHL coach. Making the jump from college directly to the NHL is a path that very few take, but Monty has weathered the storm so far. Through 41 games, he has the team five wins over .500 and sitting in third place in the Central division with first and second still within reach. That’s not easy to do, especially considering all of the challenges the Stars have faced, so you have to give him props.

“I keep learning every day,” Montgomery said after practice on Thursday. I’ve learned a lot, but still have a lot to learn. You never stop learning, it doesn’t matter where. But especially for me, I’m like a baby learning how to walk and now I’m hoping to run. But it’s a process. I’m lucky that I have a great general manager in Jim Nill that helps me through this process and I have a great staff. [Rick Bowness], [Todd Nelson], and Stu [Barnes], they help me a lot and [Jeff Reese] with how to handle goaltenders. It’s a team effort and I think as a staff, we’ve improved immensely. I think that’s why our team is improving.”

But he still needs to find that identity for his team. When he was hired back in May, he preached a relentless style of hockey that revolved around puck possession and consistent offensive pressure. That’s a great mindset to have, but the Stars have yet to find it consistently this year.

Monty has the respect of his players and they have bought in to what the new coach is bringing to the table. But, there needs to be an identity established and soon. Teams without identities never seem to go anywhere for a reason.

“I think we have a comfort level of what my expectations are and what I’m going to hold them accountable to,” Monty said. “They have expectations of how we’re going to play and they’re more comfortable. We’re a lot more fluid team now. The only thing I’d like to improve right now from a consistency standpoint is our starts.”

And so, it’s been a ride through 41 games. It was an intriguing first half of the 2018-19 season to follow, and that sets the stage for even more interest in the second part. But all in all, the Dallas Stars are proving that the process is still moving along and they are gaining consistency and ground with each step. Let’s hope that holds up.

So, let’s see what Act Two has in store.