Dallas Stars: Important Win Over Buffalo Sabres Provides Motivation

Winning a game after 10 days of rest isn’t an easy task for any hockey team. For the Dallas Stars, however, it was critical. On Wednesday night, they found a way to grind through their first game back, picking up a 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

What do you see when you look at the 2018-19 Dallas Stars?

Maybe you see a team boasting plenty of potential but missing a handful of key pieces. Perhaps you might see a team that is a legitimate playoff threat. Or, you may see a team that is approaching the end of another year without a postseason berth, which should inevitably lead to more change in the offseason. Heck, you might even see a mixture of these traits.

But, regardless of what you might see, let’s look at the facts. The Dallas Stars entered Wednesday night with a record of 24-21-4 with 52 points. They sat in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference and had found a way to hold onto a playoff spot throughout a 10-day break in their schedule.

The game that carried them into the break was an impressive 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. After building a four-game losing streak and starting a season-long homestand on an 0-3-0 note, the Stars dominated one of the best teams in the NHL. They proved to be faster, more physical, and well-rounded against the Jets and converted those strengths into an important two points.

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As Dallas transitioned into the break, however, the focus shifted. Instead of dwelling on an exciting win that kept them stapled in the playoff picture throughout the break, their attention moved to coming out of the break on a strong note. That’s a task that is always easier said than done.

When the Stars exited their week-long period of inactivity in January 2018, they were greeted with a rough 4-1 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. Following the 2018 All-Star Break, they dropped a 3-0 game to the Los Angeles Kings on home ice to get things started.

It’s always an uphill battle for teams to get back to game speed after long periods of rest, especially when those periods include vacationing and consistent relaxation.

But on Wednesday night, even after ten days away from in-game competition, the Dallas Stars found a way to make it work. The Stars managed to gut out a 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth game of their six-game homestand, pushing their record to 25-21-4 and setting themselves up for a battle for third place in the division on Friday night against Minnesota.

And though the win was a big one, there were a few questions raised about the Stars’ overall performance.

The Sabres outshot the Stars 30-27, dominated the face-off circle with a win percentage of 56.3 percent, and outhit the Stars 28-23. Don’t forget that this was a Buffalo team that had just played 24 hours before in Columbus. And while you can have the debate about whether Dallas or Buffalo had the advantage regarding tired vs. too well-rested, it’s a factor that must be considered.

In addition, the Stars once again saw their offense struggle. Besides a goal from Jamie Benn that came off of a Sabres turnover that Taylor Fedun capitalized on, the game was scoreless. Dallas had some good chances throughout the game, but couldn’t find the back of the net more than once.

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But in this case, the Dallas Stars put on a performance that can be considered both respectable and admirable. That’s because of how they put it together under the circumstances.

Taking 10 days off from competition can be toxic for a hockey team in terms of building consistency. And though they went into the break on a high note, they had a long stretch of low notes still lingering. Those kinds of things can weigh on a team’s conscience as they sink into a long period of inactivity and can make it more difficult to exit the break with the right mindset.

Dallas didn’t let it affect their focus on Wednesday.

The Stars came out of the gate swinging in the first period. Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, and Brett Ritchie started on offense while Jamie Oleksiak and Taylor Fedun started in the back end. Within the first few minutes, the Stars were throwing hits around, playing with speed, and creating opportunities. They set the tempo for the first 20 minutes and took the lead while giving up almost no dangerous chances of any kind.

The second period saw some back-and-forth, but the Stars remained in control of the tempo and created a few more quality chances in the Sabres’ end.

In the third period, Buffalo made a final push and put everything they had into trying to even the score. But, the Stars held the line to close out the 1-0 win.

“I thought our first period was our best period, and I think we could have been up by quite a bit,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said after the game . “In the first two periods, I don’t know if [Buffalo] had more than four chances. In the third period, they pushed and I thought we handled it really well.

“Hopefully that success is going to give us that mental belief that we can play that way and skate people into the ground.”

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When coming out of an extended break, it’s unrealistic to expect a hockey team to put on a perfect showing. Jason Dickinson talked before the break began about how it usually takes a handful of games to get back up to speed.

“I think everybody is going to be feeling it,” Dickinson told Blackout Dallas back on Jan. 12. “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.”

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So, it’s not going to be perfect. There are always going to be some bumps. The Dallas Stars had some of those on Wednesday night. Their offense only found the back of the net once. The depth scoring was once again lacking in certain areas. The Stars’ top six forwards took 15 of the team’s 27 total shots. And in the third period, they sat back a little bit and allowed Buffalo to push.

But that was okay, primarily because Ben Bishop went into lockdown mode in the crease. He shut the door on the Sabres, stopping all 30 shots faced and picking up his 11th consecutive win over Buffalo. Bishop got better as the game went along and stopped a Buffalo assault late in the game while looking calm and collected. He is now 11-0-1 all-time against the Sabres.

“As the game progressed, I thought he got better and better,” Montgomery said about his starting goaltender. “In the third, he was our best player and he had to be. He really broke out pucks well in the third period.”

It’s a step-by-step process when a team exits a break. There’s never a definite and immediate answer that is spotless. It takes time. But the fact that the Stars found a way to win even while not putting forth their prettiest effort is worth something. Perhaps it provides motivation. Maybe it gives them something to build on going forward. Even after an extensive rest, they found a way to get the job done. That’s important.

“We played a real solid hockey game for 10 days off,” Montgomery said after the game. “We didn’t look sloppy out there. Could we have made more plays? Yeah, you can make more plays every night. But we played together and we played well as a team. It’s a real good start here after 10 days off.”

With the gritty win, the Dallas Stars will close the month of January with a record of 5-5-0. And while that record falls under the cloud of mediocrity that has plagued this team at times through the first 50 games of the season, it’s all about looking at the present. Dallas has won two games in a row and picked up both wins using different styles of play. Both victories came against good teams currently sitting in the playoff race.

So, where does that leave the Stars as the most important stretch of the season begins? Maybe with some motivation and confidence for the journey ahead.

One thing is for sure, though: while Wednesday night’s win might have been considered stale, it was incredibly valuable.

Let’s see how that translates to a weekend filled with important Central division challenges.