The Dallas Stars won’t be back in action at the American Airlines Center until Wednesday night. But for the final three days of their break from competition, they will be practicing in Frisco. It’s a critical time in the schedule that they must use to their advantage.
It’s been eight days since the Dallas Stars last competed in an NHL regular season game. In addition, it’s also been eight days since the Stars were on the ice together.
But after an extended week of no hockey action (except Miro Heiskanen competing in the NHL All-Star Game) for Stars fans to follow, Sunday afternoon brings a breath of fresh air to the Dallas hockey community.
The Stars will be back on the ice at the Comerica Center in Frisco at 4 p.m. on Sunday for a scheduled practice. After a week of vacationing, enjoying time with family, and recharging, it’s time for Dallas to get back to the grind. That usually proves to be more difficult than some might think.
Competing in the NHL is an absolute grind. It requires a certain level of repetition in the daily life of a player, including consistent effort and a set schedule in order to always achieve maximum effort.
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But when a player is given a week away from the rink and 10 days off from in-game action, that repetition disappears. Instead of following their usual schedule of morning skate, rest, game, rest, practice, etc., they have eight days of free rein.
And when they return to practice or game action, it can be difficult to immediately access their same level of effort from the first part of the season. It’s not like riding a bike where someone can learn it, abandon it for a few months, and then return at the same level.
As a result, it’s up to the Dallas Stars to use these next three days to their advantage. It’s an opportunity to get back into game shape, regroup, and bounce back to game speed.
It was an interesting ride into the break for the Stars. They opened up a six-game homestand with four games in a span of eight days. And while their competition varied from teams at the top of the league standings to teams near the bottom, Dallas struggled in keeping pace with most of them. They lost to the St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Los Angeles Kings to start the homestand and dropped to 23-21-4 on the year. The losses brought them close to the playoff wall in the Western Conference and put the pressure on.
But they found a way to right the ship last Saturday in one of their most complete games of the year. The Dallas Stars downed the Winnipeg Jets 4-2, picked up a big divisional win, and solidified their spot in the playoff picture. It was a game where Dallas relied on speed, depth scoring, and offensive relentless, and all three factors produced in a big way.
“These games are huge for us,” said Jason Dickinson before the homestand began, “especially going into that break where we can rest feeling great about our game and then keep it rolling off the break. 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.”
They were able to enter the break with motivation, but that was eight days ago. Now, the challenge is getting back to that same speed and finding a way to access that same style in preparation for Wednesday night as well as going forward.
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“I think it can be hard to jump right in after a long break there,” said Tyler Pitlick on Jan. 12, “but we’ve got three practices before so I think we should be okay.”
Will their reassembling bring an immediate chemistry and energy back to the team? That’s up to the team. But if not, how long will it take? That’s what the next three days are for.
The Buffalo Sabres, who will serve as the Stars’ first challenger out of the break, have been off since Jan. 18. Their first action comes on Tuesday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets, meaning Dallas will be the final stop in a back-to-back for a Sabres team trying to stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
That should provide an advantage for the home team, though the Stars have struggled with playing to the level of tired opponents through 49 games this season. It’s their first game back against a tired team that will also be trying to find its footing.
“I think everybody is going to be feeling it,” Dickinson said. “They’re going to be trying to find their game the first day. Luckily, we have a few days of practice beforehand to get back a little bit. But, it’s never gonna be where you’re absolutely in a game flow. It’s a completely different grind. You have to get in a couple of games and a couple of reps in order to feel that flow.”
The next three days in Frisco will be a grind for the Dallas Stars. Head coach Jim Montgomery and his staff are tasked with getting the team back on the same page and in a similar groove as they entered the break on. That’s easier said than done, but it’s an imperative challenge for the Stars to complete.
The Stars currently sit in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 52 points. But with six different teams sitting within three points of the same spot, there’s no time to struggle in getting back to game speed. It’s up to Dallas to take a strong first swing out of the gate against a tough slate.
“I think everyone is feeling pretty good, but we have to get that rest and be healthy and ready to go because once that break is over, it’s crunch time,” Pitlick added. “So, we have to be ready to go.”
Time to get back to the grind.