The road has been an unkind enemy to the Dallas Stars for a majority of the 2018-19 regular season. Over the past month, however, they have produced impressive success. That success away from home couldn’t have come at a better time of year.
The Dallas Stars have wrestled with a number of enemies throughout their 2018-19 regular season campaign.
In October (and at various parts throughout the season), it was adjusting to a new lineup and new head coach in Jim Montgomery. November brought a plethora of injuries to the Stars’ defensive rotation that forced them to scrap together a makeshift lineup composed primarily of prospects. December threw the Dallas organization into the spotlight after CEO Jim Lites went on an expletive-filled tirade about the play of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
January further exposed the Stars’ lacking offensive play as they scored just three goals during a four-game losing skid. February brought a bittersweet weekend with it as the Dallas Stars traded for defenseman Ben Lovejoy and forward Mats Zuccarello just before the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline and lost Zuccarello to a broken arm less than 24 hours later.
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But through all of those enemies, the Stars persevered. They dug in their heels, kept their balance, and stayed in the fight for a playoff spot.
Then March came around, and the Dallas Stars hit the gas pedal towards the finish line. The Stars rattled off wins in five of their first six contests and sit at 7-4-1 on the month with just three games to go.
And throughout the past 31 days, the Stars have successfully countered one of their biggest enemies: the road.
Going into Wednesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, the Stars are riding a five-game win streak on the road and have won six of their last seven away from home.
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This success has been largely missing through the first few months of the 2018-19 regular season. Through the first two months of the year, Dallas posted a road record of 5-7-2. By the new year, they were 8-11-2.
And after flunking a 1-3-1 road trip just prior to the deadline in February, the Stars sat at 11-16-3. That road trip contributed to the Stars’ removal from the Western Conference playoff picture after almost two months on the inside. They had been the only team in the playoff picture with a road record below .500 and watched as their playoff hopes hovered around 60 percent.
It was an important battle to watch because good playoff teams know how to play on the road. Good playoff teams can thrive on the road because, well, they have to. The 2015-16 Dallas Stars went 4-2-0 in road games. They knew how to win in hostile enemy territory and pick up a critical advantage in the postseason chase.
And right now, the Stars seem to be reacquiring that strength. Dallas started the hot streak on the road back on Feb. 24 with an emotional 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Two nights later, they dropped a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights after falling short of a third period rally.
Pucks and Pitchforks
They followed it up with a 4-3 comeback win against the Kings and dominant 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Those wins came in tough buildings against desperate teams playing loose hockey.
After a three-game homestand, the Stars swept a quick two-game trip with impressive wins against the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild. That’s two more wins against teams clawing to stay in the playoff race.
And with a disappointing homestand looming over their heads, the Dallas Stars started their current four-game trip on Monday with a confident 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Five road victories in a row in tough arenas that have required standing tall and rallying at various times. In those games, the Stars have outscored their opposition 19-7. That’s included four strong performances by Ben Bishop, an unnatural scoring assault, and four multi-goal victories.
As a result, Dallas now sits at 17-17-3 when playing on the road. They are back at .500 when playing away from home for the first time since Nov. 18.
This strong road surge is also helping in more ways than one. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Stars own playoff odds of 97.1 percent (via Sports Club Stats). Those odds have been padded because of their recent road performances. After bouncing back and recovering from a slow and discouraging homestand, Dallas is back in the driver’s seat and is making a strong push to the finish line.
This hot streak can also aid greatly in boosting the team’s playoff morale.
When a team enters the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they want to do so in the most confident way possible. That confidence comes from feeling secure in their strengths and not worrying about any potential weaknesses that were unveiled throughout the regular season.
The Stars had a glaring weakness in their road play through the first 50 games of the season. There was a point in November and December where Dallas dropped eight of ten road games in a row.
But in the past month, they are turning the negative into a positive. They are picking up big victories that are boosting their playoff odds and giving themselves confidence for the weeks ahead.
And at this point in the season, that’s exactly what they need.