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The Stars need to get going in an important stretch before the Olympic break

Dallas has five games left before the NHL goes on a three-week hiatus. Considering all five are against Western Conference teams, the Stars need to snap the cold streak before it lingers into March. Here's why the Stars need to get a good win streak going before the Olympic break.
ByEric Bolin|
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Jan 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan looks on from behind the bench against the Washington Capitals during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan looks on from behind the bench against the Washington Capitals during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

For all the joy he's supposed to bring, Santa sure was unkind to the Dallas Stars. Before Christmas, Dallas was largely considered the second-best team in the NHL. The Stars weren't nipping at the heels of their Central Division rival, the Colorado Avalanche, no team is, but they looked set on a clear path to a battle for the Western Conference come springtime.

Then ol' Saint Nick dropped a lump of coal. Dallas has gone 4-7-3 since Christmas and enters Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Blues in third place in the Central with 67 points, a point behind the Minnesota Wild. Those 67 points are good for sixth in the NHL, but considering how the first two months went, the disappointment in Big D is palpable.


Dallas Stars Stretch: Seasonal Depression

Dallas has five games to get right before the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics in Milan. Continued struggles won't sink the Stars' ship, of course. But three weeks to sit and wallow would no be good. Depression tends to lead to more depression.

The opportunity that awaits is massive. As massive as a set of games in January and February can be, anyway. After Tuesday's game at St. Louis, the Stars travel to Las Vegas on Thursday and Utah on Sunday. Those two teams have gone a combined 16-3-1 over their last 20 games. The Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division with 62 points, and Utah is the West's top wildcard team with 58. Minnesota, meanwhile, gets Chicago and Calgary at home, followed by a trip to Edmonton.

If the Wild pulls five points out of those three games and Dallas manages just two in its next three, watch out. A four-point Minnesota advantage in the standings not only looks rough, but given what Dallas has been up to in the last month, it will feel rough, too.

The home games against Winnipeg and St. Louis that close out the Stars' schedule before the break, which, incidentally, comes at almost precisely the two-thirds mark of the regular season, suddenly become must-win games, lest the Mammoth get closer to Dallas than Dallas is to Minnesota.

Dallas Stars Stretch: Not All Bad

Good news appears on the horizon, at least. Mikko Rantanen returned Friday in the win against the Blues. Lian Bischel seems likely to do the same before the break. The Stars badly need Rantanen and his 63 points, as they've scored more than two goals just twice in their last seven games.

Plus, the Mammoth have an unenviable schedule with four games in six days (at Tampa Bay, at Florida, at Carolina, home against Dallas). If the Stars can hold serve and finish with at least six points in their final five games, some stabilization will have been brought, and the funk will be snapped. But the fact that the Stars now have to look below them instead of ahead, aiming at the Avalanche, is a sign of just why this next week-plus is so essential.

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