Dallas Stars: 2018-19 Season Plagued By Seemingly Inescapable Issues

You’ve heard it before. In fact, it’s become a consistently woven thread within the Dallas Stars franchise. After yet another flat and humbling loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, the question has once again been posed: will the Stars ever break out of their theme of mediocrity?

The Dallas Stars entered second intermission to the sound of boos during their game against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. The boos didn’t arise from all of the 18,045 fans in attendance, but there were enough to get the point across: the Stars are in a really bad spot.

After 40 minutes of play in the third contest of a six-game homestand, Dallas found themselves in a 2-0 hole against the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings entered the game in last place in the NHL standings, boasted the worst scoring offense in the league, and owned bottom-five units in both the power play and penalty kill units.

But that didn’t stop them from taking it to the Stars, scoring a goal in both the first and second periods while former Stars first-round pick Jack Campbell kept Dallas scoreless. And, had it not been for a 6-on-5 deflection goal from Esa Lindell, the Stars would have ended the game without a goal. Still, 130 minutes and 21 seconds without a goal isn’t the best look.

Alexander Radulov was benched in the first period for talking back to head coach Jim Montgomery. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin couldn’t cash in on grade-A chances. Ben Bishop gave up a soft second goal after failing to suppress a rebound chance. The Stars’ superstars didn’t play like it, and it hurt them all the more.

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Simply put, the Dallas Stars fell drastically short against a subpar team on home ice and yet again failed to capitalize on a quality chance. The 2-1 loss to the Kings marked four consecutive losses for the Stars and once again raised questions about their playoff worthiness.

The disappointing thing is that this is not the first time in the 2018-19 season where their legitimacy has been questioned. It’s a recurring theme within the Stars franchise and has been for many years. Can this Stars team take the next step? Are they ready to surge towards the playoffs? Are they nothing more than a flash in the pan?

These questions are becoming more consistent and overwhelming. Dallas has yet to win a game during their season-long homestand, is 1-5-0 in its past six games, and has only scored seven goals during the span. The offense is as bad as its been in recent memory, the goaltending is being relied upon more than ever, and the Stars seem stuck in a cycle of mediocrity.

When squaring off with struggling teams like the Flyers, Blues, and Kings over the past week, the Stars have fallen short. When going up against the best team in the league in the Lightning, they dominated for the majority of the game but came up short in a 2-0 finish.

Bottom line: the Dallas Stars are losing games that they arguably shouldn’t be losing. With the best-case scenario now being a .500 finish on their six-game homestand, it’s quickly become a wasted opportunity.

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The Stars seem unable to produce any sort of offensive threat, cannot muster up a win on home ice regardless of the opponent, and are falling woefully short of the expectation line. They are still in the playoff picture, due solely to the fact that the teams around them are struggling just as consistently.

Thursday night’s game should have been a manageable win against the Kings. Instead, the Stars found a way to encompass the majority of this season’s frustrations into the 60-minute frame. No even-strength goals, a slow first 40 minutes of play, being outplayed by a team in the cellar of the NHL standings, losing the special teams battle (0/2 on the power play and 0/1 on the penalty kill), and falling short due to their own inefficiencies.

And now with one game to go before a ten-day break, the Dallas Stars once again find themselves looking in the mirror. Their identity is cloudier than ever and they cannot seem to find their way off of the path of inconsistency.

The Winnipeg Jets will be in town on Saturday night in hopes of adding a cushion to their lead in the Central division. Meanwhile, the Stars will be fighting to hold onto the first wild card spot with four different teams sitting within four points of them.

But that’s not all the Dallas Stars will have to fight for. They will also be fighting to gain some sort of consistency. They’ll fight to find offensive pressure. They’ll fight to hold their playoff standing and finally pull two points out of this lacking homestand. And they will have to do it against the best team in the division.

The road is only getting tougher for the Stars. Thursday night’s game showed that Dallas still has plenty of internal issues that are plaguing their chance at true success. When will they finally break out?

That is anyone’s guess at this point.