Dallas Stars Continue Boasting Inconsistency Through Average Week
What initially looked like a winnable week beginning last Friday ended on a painfully average note for the Dallas Stars last night. And, through all of the ups and downs of the past week, they continued preaching their strongest trait: inconsistency.
The Dallas Stars posted a record of 2-2-0 over the past seven days. For most hockey teams, that wouldn’t be saying much other than the fact that it was an average week.
But for the Stars, it says a lot.
In the past week, Dallas wrapped up a four-game homestand and took on a three-game road trip. Their opponents ranged from teams at the top of their respective divisions to teams in the bottom of the league standings. There seemed to be a chance to gain further ground and build a cushion in the playoff picture.
And, while the Stars still sit in third in the Central division standings on Friday morning, there still isn’t much breathing room. That’s because of a 2-2-0 week that left the Stars looking uncertain and confused yet again.
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Let’s go back to last Friday. The Dallas Stars were preparing to wrap up a homestand that helped them kick off the 2019 calendar year. Dallas had posted a 2-0-1 record during the stand and were looking for a big win against the Washington Capitals, who led the Metropolitan Division. They ended up securing a big 2-1 overtime victory and entered a week-long road trip on a high note.
That high note was quickly extinguished on Sunday afternoon when the Stars dropped a 5-1 loss to the Central-leading Winnipeg Jets. It was the widest margin in a Dallas loss since Nov. 21 and, although the Stars played decently, it left them looking exposed.
Then, the Stars traveled to St. Louis and picked up a 3-1 win over the Blues. They hadn’t won a game in St. Louis since February 2015 and gave them an important two points within the division.
And finally, Dallas ended the trip on Thursday night in Philadelphia against a Flyers team that sat dead last in the NHL standings. But, the Flyers showed up and showed out while the Stars fell victim to their own lack of energy and execution. Philadelphia picked up a 2-1 win and sent Dallas home on a losing note.
So, here they sit. An average seven-day span leaves the Dallas Stars at 23-18-4 with 50 points. They are five points out of second in the division and four points away from being outside of the Western Conference playoff wall. Sounds like a decent spot, right?
While it may be an okay position at the 45-game mark, there is a lot of action left to be played. And with the 2-2-0 week that they just produced, the Stars once again proved that their most consistent trait this season is inconsistency.
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Let’s go through this on a game-by-game basis. On Friday night, the Stars pulled out a close overtime victory against the Washington Capitals thanks to two goals from Tyler Seguin and some stellar goaltending from Anton Khudobin. The Stars were a fresh team after playing their previous game two days prior on home ice. Meanwhile, the Capitals had been blasted on Thursday night in St. Louis and had to travel to Dallas to close out a back-to-back.
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Blackhawk Up
Washington was tired and bruised while Dallas was fresh off of a win and looking for more momentum. And yet, there’s an argument to be made that the Stars didn’t deserve to win that game. Following a strong first period by Dallas, the Capitals won the shot battle 29-10 through the final two periods and controlled the tempo and pace of the game in the final 40 minutes. If it weren’t for Khudobin’s heroic efforts in the third period and overtime, the Stars very well may have lost.
It wasn’t the best look for a healthy and energized team, but it was a win.
Then, the Dallas Stars go to Winnipeg and get dropped 5-1 by the best team in the Central division. Even though the Stars once again started relatively strong and scored the first goal of the game on a deflection from Alexander Radulov, Dallas dropped five unanswered tallies to the Jets and couldn’t close the gap.
Now, this was a game where Dallas played decently. Ben Bishop mentioned that the final score didn’t reflect the game in a proper light and that the Stars played better than the scoreboard showed.
Following that, the Stars headed for St. Louis for another divisional showdown. They hadn’t met up with the Blues through the first 43 games of the season and carried a three-year losing streak (seven games) at the Enterprise Center into the game. Meanwhile, the Blues were coming into town after playing in Philadelphia on Monday night and squared off with Dallas on tired legs. On top of that, they currently sit last in the Central division standings.
So, naturally, the Stars powered through and used two goals from Tyler Seguin and a power play goal from John Klingberg to claim a 3-1 win. And yet, Dallas once again struggled to make it a dominant win. After building a three-goal lead midway through the second period, the Stars shut off the engines. The Blues countered with a goal of their own and dominant puck possession through the final 30 minutes of the game.
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Causeway Crowd
In the third period alone, St. Louis outshot Dallas 12-2 and finished the game with a 27-17 shot advantage. That tied the Stars’ lowest shot total in a game this season and showed some serious flaws in their ability to close out games on a dominant note. But, again, a win is a win and the two points pushed Dallas back into the top three in the Central.
And then we have the clunker from Thursday night. The Stars went up against the worst team in the NHL and fell victim to their own inefficiency. Even though Dallas hung around in the first period and dominated the third period in terms of shots, their high-danger chances were few and far between and left Anton Khudobin to play hero yet again just to keep it close. The Flyers were up 2-0 late in the third period when Jamie Benn broke up the shutout with a goal, but that was as far as it would go.
And so, the Dallas Stars finished the week with a 2-2-0 record. They played alright in their losses and barely squeaked out their wins. They went against some of the league’s top talents as well as some of its bottom-feeders and couldn’t find a way to get out of mediocrity.
Now, the Stars have looked like a different team during the last two weeks. Since the end of the NHL Holiday Break, Dallas is 5-2-1. They have beaten teams like Nashville and Washington and have regained their status in the top half of the division. The team is slowly working on fixing some of their problems, such as slow starts in the first period and consistent power play scoring.
But, problems are still lingering, and that’s what is keeping Dallas pinned as a “middle of the pack” team. In the past week alone, we saw some of those problems show their ugly faces. They were unable to close out games on a strong note, received no contributions from their depth scorers (Benn, Seguin, Radulov, and Klingberg are the only Stars with goals in the past week), and seemed to underestimate certain opponents based on standings and situations.
And because of that, this Dallas Stars team is still very much an enigma. Are they a playoff contender poised to make a deep run? Are they a fledgling postseason squad? Or will they once again crumble down the stretch?
The Stars are 45 games into their 2018-19 season. They are a handful of games above .500 and sit in a playoff spot. And yet, this past week seemed to perfectly sum up their season so far: inconsistent.
And with another week ahead against some of the league’s best and worst, it’s another chance for the Dallas Stars to build a consistent brand for themselves. But, that all starts with a refreshed mindset and outlook.
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Inconsistency hurts and can often cloud up a team’s true identity. Now is the time for the Stars to clear the air and figure things out.
If they don’t do it now, they might never get the chance.