The first month of the Dallas Stars season has come to an end. Hockey season finally came back after what is always a long absence. With it comes new storylines. Some players stood out in what was a forgettable month. Their 3-4-1 record needs improvement going into November. Likewise, their goal-scoring needs improvement. Here is what happened in October and a preview for November.
The East Beast
All but 2 of their games in October came against Eastern Conference opponents. Things got off to a good start against the New York Rangers with an opening night overtime win. They are 2-4-0 against Eastern Conference teams to start the season. The East accounts for 32 of the 82 games this year so they have to do better. The anti-icing on the cake were the two losses to the Ottawa Senators.
Player of the Month
The Dallas Stars moved up in the 2017 Draft Lottery to pick 3rd. That pick turned into Miro Heiskanen. The Stars finally got some draft pick luck (After trading away the draft pick that turned into Corey Perry in 2003.). Heiskanen is the player of the month. He leads the team in scoring with 7 points in 8 games. The blue line needs to get in on the struggling scoring and Heiskanen proves he’s capable of lighting the lamp.
Outscored
Rarely does a team make the playoffs with a negative score differential. The Stars are currently at -7. Their scoring has struggled. They must find their scoring touch or risk missing the playoffs yet again. All their wins are 1-goal games and while that is good, they need more scoring. They have yet to score more than one goal in a period all season. It seems like the Stars cannot buy a goal right now.
Between the Pipes
Braden Holtby was doing fine before Friday against the Senators. His 2.04 Goals-Against-Average and .939 save percentage took a dip going into the final game of the month. His GAA is now 2.40 with a .926 save percentage. Anton Khudobin provided some relief with a 1-1-1 record.
This was a bad start to the season for the Stars. It’s still early with lots of hockey left. This start is less than ideal but there is plenty of time to turn it around. Now is not the time to sound the alarm bell but their play must get better.
Moving Forward
The schedule in November is lighter than some with 12 games on the slate. They have 7 two-or-more day breaks between games. They can’t let these games get away from them.
Photo Credit: Dallas Stars Twitter
