As the NHL returns to its normal form and players get back from vacation, the Dallas Stars will look to see what they can put together. Their season, in fact, depends upon it.
The Dallas Stars are back in Dallas. With some having been on vacation, others back from visiting family, and Miro Heiskanen competing at NHL All-Star Weekend over the last eight days, it’s finally time to regroup in the Lone Star State.
As time away from consistent NHL competition comes to an end, the Stars have to take a good look at their play and prepare for what’s on tap: the home stretch of the regular season. The good news? There are a few ways to get their desired result, being a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Standalone Games
Dallas gets into trouble when focusing too much on the season as a whole. They lose sight of what’s right in front of them: their next opponent.
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To better their likelihood of success, the Stars have to take things one game at a time. And, instead of falling or rising to the level of the team they’re up against, Dallas needs to approach each game the same way. They have a system that has helped them be somewhat successful up to this point; but if they fail to execute it, they get into trouble.
Taking it one game at a time will help make the season as a whole stay in perspective without becoming overwhelming.
Keep Shooting
Even though secondary scoring has been an issue for Dallas this season, they have a number of games remaining to turn it around. And one thing that certainly won’t help is if they stop shooting.
The Dallas Stars need to consistently take shots at the net and have the confidence to at least try and score on a regular basis. With criticism has come fear of even taking a chance at scoring, which is counterintuitive to the production of the team.
This isn’t just for the secondary scorers, though. Everyone on the team could benefit from remembering that shooting is a major part of their game and a skill they’ve developed over years and years of playing hockey. They’ll never get better if they don’t practice. Yes, it really is as simple as that.
Communicate
They say that good hockey teams have loud benches, and bad teams keep quiet. While it’s hard to speak to the Stars’ bench noise from the stands, press box or on a couch, it’s easy to tell how their lack of communication translates to the ice.
In some games, it’s almost painful to see how obvious the Stars’ lack of communication is. They’re passing into skates — or even worse, to no one at all — and leaving the zone ahead of the puck with no thought to how the defensive side of things is going.
Working to continuously improve their overall communication on the ice, on the bench, and during practice will only make the final games of the season that much better.
Final Thoughts
Dallas is still in the playoff mix. They’re fighting for their right to still be playing hockey come mid-April. And they need to focus on continuing to fight until they’ve clenched and made it official. Until then, anything could happen.