I don't know what to tell you about the Dallas Stars after losing to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. It's like the team has no fight left in it this season. After the game, Matt Duchene tried to ease the Stars fan base's minds. It's like the opposite team the Stars had in March, where they were dominating their opponents. This team won't advance far in the playoffs if they play like they have in the last four games. It's like they have lost their passion for winning games.
It all started when the Stars had a good lead against the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. It looked like Casey DeSmith would get a win against his former team, until Sidney Crosby struck in the third period. The fact that the Stars were all out of position on defense in that game is very concerning. They allowed a team to creep back into the game and steal a win on the road. That should have been an easy two points and could have helped the Stars get closer to the top of the Central Division.
The next day, things didn't look any better when they took on the Minnesota Wild on the road. The Stars just couldn't get anything going on offense, and the Wild came away with the win in overtime. The Stars could have easily won that in regulation if they had had more urgency after losing to the Penguins on Saturday. It was another opportunity to get closer to the top of the Central Division after the Stars got a gift from the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday.
The Stars had the game in the bag against the Vancouver Canucks until the final minute of the game. After going up 5-2 with a couple of minutes remaining in the game, the Canucks would score three goals in less than a minute to force overtime and beat the Stars. I have no clue why the Stars let their foot off the gas pedal, being up three goals. The Stars had a chance to lock up home-ice advantage and decided to let the Canucks beat the Avalanche to clinch it.
The Stars would have one last chance on Thursday night to remain in the Central Division race. They would have to beat the Winnipeg Jets on home ice to have a chance of winning the division in the final three games of the season. Everything went downhill after the Stars gave up the game's first goal. They were downhill, not interested in coming back, and upsetting. The Stars were not interested in coming back and upsetting the Jets on home ice. I will give them a little break because they were against the best goaltender in the league this season.
In conclusion, I hope the Stars find their passion in hockey games later tonight against the Utah Hockey Club. It would be nice to sweep a divisional foe going into the playoffs. I don't know if that or getting Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen back shortly will bring them back to life. However, they do it. It's got to happen fast because the Colorado Avalanche would love nothing more than to eliminate them in the first round this season. Sometimes, all it takes is a win or getting a player back to spark a winning streak.