At a critical point in the regular season schedule, the Dallas Stars are surging right along. That’s due to a handful of different factors, with the prime one being that they finally seem to have found a successful game plan.
The Dallas Stars defeated the Boston Bruins in a gritty and offensively stagnant 1-0 overtime game back on Nov. 16, 2018. And shortly after the game, Stars goaltender Ben Bishop (who had posted the shutout) summed up the win in a handful of words:
“Sometimes, they’re not all Picassos; they’re always a little bit different,” Bishop told Mark Stepneski of DallasStars.com.
That quote has lingered in the back of my mind for the past few months as the Dallas Stars have played out their 2018-19 regular season campaign, and rightly so. After all, there have been plenty of Stars’ performances in the last three months that wouldn’t be considered “works of art.”
The four-game losing streak during the December road trip was ugly. So was their 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders just before the NHL Holiday Break. And lest you forget the four-game skid in the middle of January that saw Dallas drop games to a few of the worst teams in the NHL.
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Bottom line: Dallas has struggled with putting together consistently beautiful wins this season. Part of that has to do with the search for an identity that has kept the team busy through the first 50 or so games. Another part of it has to do with the fact that the Stars have struggled heavily on generating offense, which is usually a key component in producing “pretty” and dominant wins.
Take a step back to the 2015-16 season. For the entire 82-game slate, the Dallas Stars owned one of the hottest offenses in the league, They averaged 3.23 goals per game and boasted one of the most complete lineups in the NHL. Their top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Patrick Sharp wreaked havoc on the league, Jason Spezza was a 60-point player on the second line along with rookie Mattias Janmark, and the Dallas defenders were plenty involved on offense, including John Klingberg and Alex Goligoski.
As a result, the Stars produced a lot of “Picassos” on their way to a 50-win season. It wasn’t unusual to see them blast an opponent 4-1 or 5-2 as they trekked to the top spot in the Central division and Western Conference. And heck, had it not been for the dazzling play of St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott in the Western Conference semifinals, the Stars very well could have found themselves within reach of the Stanley Cup.
The point in this quick reminiscing is that the Dallas Stars had an explosive offense that helped them paint many a “fun” and “elegant” victory. But why does a beautiful win have to involve lots of scoring?
It boils down to how sports fans are wired. Scoring of any kind makes things more exciting and entertaining and gets fans riled up. Touchdowns are awesome, home runs are incredible, three-pointers are clutch, and goals are a blast to celebrate. The more scoring, the more fans enjoy themselves. It’s simple math.
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The Dallas Stars haven’t produced a lot of scoring this season. They currently sit 29th in the NHL in average goals scored per game at 2.56. That’s a far cry from the 3.23 that they averaged in 2015-16 and is even a good bit away from the 2.71 they put up in 2016-17 and 2.82 in 2017-18.
For much of the season, the offense has been an almost nonexistent factor for Dallas. The depth scoring has yet to show up on a regular basis, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are behind their usual scoring pace, and first-year head coach Jim Montgomery has been forced to consistently shuffle the lines in hopes of finding something that works. That’s all part of searching for an identity.
And for the past few seasons, the Stars’ identity has been rooted in their offense. High-scoring forwards that produce on a nightly basis became part of who the Stars are. But, even though they aren’t necessarily getting that anymore, why are they not producing “Picassos” anymore? After all, the Stars are 27-21-4 with 58 points on the season and have won their past four contests against some of the better teams in the league.
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It’s all a part of the new winning game plan that Dallas has concocted. This new plan involves a defense-first approach and teaches that a 1-0 win is perfectly viable. It’s been used by the Stars at various points throughout the 2018-19 campaign, but has become increasingly prevalent in their play over the past few weeks.
This new blueprint to success includes a handful of factors. For one, the defense is the primary catalyst in the game. It’s a full-team approach that takes place in the defensive zone, limiting both quality opportunities and zone time overall for the opposition. Clogging the passing lanes and forcing shooters to the outside all factor into this master plan.
In addition, the goaltending has to be on. And so far, Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin have not disappointed. For goalies that have played in at least 20 games this season, Bishop owns the third-best save percentage (.925) and second-best goals against average (2.25). Khudobin, meanwhile, owns the second-best save percentage (.926) and fourth-best goals against average (2.39). Both goaltenders are keeping the Stars running and buying them opportunities to win games.
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The approach involves weathering early instead of attacking. The opposition attempts to come out of the gate swinging, but the Dallas defense and goaltending hold the line. They keep the game steady and within reach, leaving the opponent struggling to take control. And, once the opposition has been lulled into a state of disarray, the Stars strike once or twice to take the game into their own hands.
It’s a bold system that not many teams can properly execute. But, when your defense boasts the second-lowest GAA in the NHL (2.50) and you own the best goaltending tandem in the league, it’s definitely one that can work.
Over the past few games, the Dallas Stars have seemed fully prepared to officially adopt this process as their own. They have surrendered just four goals in the past four games while scoring 11 of their own. They are 4-0-0 since Jan. 19, with three of their wins coming against the top teams in the Central division.
“Like I said, just trust,” said Stars forward Tyler Seguin following a win over the Wild on Friday. “The buy-in is key right now and it starts in practice. It’s been preached all year, but we’re starting to see the rewards and the benefits of it. We’re comfortable winning games 1-0. As a goal scorer, I’d like to win 5-1, but I’ll take the 1-0, too.”
This is a strategy that works for the Stars. Sure, a 1-0 win against Buffalo or 3-1 win against Nashville in game that was tied until the final five minutes may not look like the prettiest victories. But, they are working for Dallas and gaining valuable points in the process. As a result, could a defense-first and low-scoring approach be their new identity?
“Sticking to what we are,” said Montgomery on Friday night about the team’s defensive success. “I mean, that’s what we are, right? If you have good defense, you’re always gonna be in every game. And if the goal scoring comes, we’re going to start winning games by a couple of goals to several goals. And it will come, because if you play that way, we were just missing on a couple of odd-man rushes in every period.”
The Dallas Stars seem to have found a successful system that fits them. And, while it might not be the most entertaining system or completely unfamiliar to how we’ve seen the Stars in the past, it’s getting results. Dallas has won four games in a row and find themselves in third place in the Central with games in hand and a chance to advance and create separation. So, what’s the key going forward?
“We gotta just keep staying with the same preparation, we gotta keep the same attitude, and we gotta keep believing,” Montgomery said.
They aren’t Picassos, but they don’t have to be. The Stars are winning big games and surging right along at one of the most important points of the season. And if they can stay consistent with this new blueprint for success, they might become a problem for the rest of the league.
Isn’t that by itself beautiful in its own way?