Three home games separate the Dallas Stars from a 10-day break, and each one presents a unique task. With that being said, it will be up to the Stars to find a way to bring the same level of effort to each contest.
If you feel like it’s been longer than usual since you watched the Dallas Stars play, you probably aren’t alone.
After falling flat in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues to kick off a six-game homestand on Saturday night, the Stars have had the past two days off from game action. That’s an unordinary length of rest for a Dallas team that hasn’t had more than one day off since the NHL Holiday Break (Dec. 24-26).
So, an extra day of rest is already odd enough. But then, you mix in a trade on Monday morning that sent Devin Shore to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Andrew Cogliano. All of a sudden, the Dallas Stars have a new player to insert into the lineup and everyone wants to see what he can bring to the table.
Two days off and a trade can do a lot to a hockey team. It can give players an extra breather, leave fans restless, and raise both expectations and suspicions. All of these different elements end up making the week ahead all the more enticing and important.
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And in the Stars’ upcoming slate, they have quite a challenge on their hands.
The Dallas Stars have three home games separating them from a ten-day break. Games 2-4 of the Stars’ current homestand are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and offer a variety of opponents with different levels of competition. And that might end up being what challenges the Stars more than anything else.
Through the first 46 games of the 2018-19 season, the Stars have struggled with bringing a consistent level of effort to each contest. It’s been a primary factor in the team being unable to establish an identity so far and has also kept them from surging ahead in the Western Conference playoff race.
What’s becoming even more prevalent and influential is the Stars’ record against teams at the top of the standings versus teams near the bottom. When playing against a team in a top-ten spot in the NHL standings, Dallas is 10-6-2. And when they play against teams in a bottom-ten spot? 6-7-0.
This inconsistent trend has become incredibly prevalent in their current losing skid. Last Thursday, the Stars dropped a 2-1 contest to the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit 29th in the NHL. They followed it up two days later with a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, who are trying to recover from a slow start, on home ice.
“Some of the guys said it and [Tyler Seguin] said it, I think, where sometimes we might play down to other team’s levels,” said Jason Dickinson after Saturday’s morning skate. “And, you know what? That’s a real thing. It’s sh**ty. We shouldn’t ever do that because we are a good team and we could take over. Unfortunately, that’s been a mentality sometimes, I guess. But, as long as we can find the intensity and keep pushing, these games are huge.”
Bolts by the Bay
There’s no real rhyme or reason as to why it’s happening, but it is something that the Stars need to fix. And what better time to fix it than the present?
In this week leading up to ten days of rest, the Dallas Stars have a rollercoaster of opponents in terms of success.
On Tuesday night, they will face off with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts currently own the best record in the NHL at 35-9-2 with 72 points. They are the only team in the Eastern Conference with at least 60 points and are eight points ahead of the Calgary Flames, who sit second in the NHL. Their offense is flaring, rattling off a league-best 4.04 goals per game. Meanwhile, their defense sits 12th with a 2.89 goals against average. To top it all off, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy owns one of the best save percentages in the NHL (.922).
It will be the Stars’ first time running into the Lightning this season and gives them a chance to stack up against the best.
Two days later, the Los Angeles Kings will come to town. LA sits in last place in the league right now with a record of 18-25-3. They have sunk into the Western Conference cellar and doomed themselves with horrific offensive production (2.26 goals per game) and terrible special teams play.
The Stars defeated the Kings 4-2 in their first meeting of the season back in October. But, considering their lack of consistent pressure and effort against subpar teams, there’s no guarantee that Dallas will dominate the game, even though they seem able.
To finish it out, Dallas will welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the American Airlines Center. After defeating the Jets 5-1 in the second game of the season in Dallas, the Stars lost 5-1 in Winnipeg on Jan. 6. The Jets also sit atop the Central division right now with 60 points on the year.
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A great team, followed by a bad team, followed by a really good team. That’s one way to test a team’s consistency in terms of effort and execution.
But this is more than just a consistency test; it’s also a chance to defend home ice (where Dallas is 14-6-2 on the year), get back into the win column after a two-game skid, and pick up some momentum to carry into the long break.
“These games are huge for us, especially going into that break where we can rest feeling great about our game and then keep it rolling off the break,” Dickinson said. “If we go into the break holding our sticks tight, the break was all for nothing and we’re just back to where we were.”
Will the trade help? Will the Dallas Stars be a better and more consistent team this week? Can they keep their effort the same from game-to-game, regardless of the opponent? Will they be able to build a cushion in the playoff race?
Their schedule sets them up almost too perfectly to find out. A handful of wins could have the Stars challenging for first or second in the division. A handful of losses could drop them from the playoff picture entirely heading into the long break. And if there’s anything that could deflate a team and cause them to crumble down the stretch, it’s sitting outside the playoff wall for an extended period of time.
Three more games stand between the Stars and a much-needed break. What are these Dallas Stars made of and can they fix their inconsistencies in a tough upcoming slate? We’ll certainly find out.