Every single NHL season has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. The Dallas Stars had their worst week all season long, going a dismal 0-3-2 over the last five games. A stretch like this needs dissecting as to what went wrong. The Stars lost games that they should have won. The blown lead against Chicago was a completely unacceptable loss from a team of this caliber. Solving what went wrong needs to happen fast or they will start falling down the standings even more.
No Longer 1st
Teams should not expect to stay atop the standings after going 2-3-5 over their last 10 games. The Vegas Golden Knights now lead the Western Conference standings with 3 points over the Stars. This month seemed to have the most potential because the Stars are at the American Airlines Center for all but 2 games. The Stars are now 1-3-2 at home in February. Any winning formula for a hockey team relies on their performance at home. The Stars now have a better record on the road than they do at the AAC, 15-8-7 vs. 15-8-5.
Losing Winnable Games
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks are 2 out of the 3 worst teams in the NHL at the moment. They each had no problem getting a regulation win in Dallas. The Blue Jackets walloped the Stars 4-1 while the Blackhawks’ win was a failure on the part of the Stars. The Stars have a problem with multi-goal leads this season. Blowing multi-goal leads several times throughout the season is a huge problem. The Stars held a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks yet lost in regulation. These are meltdowns a good hockey team like the Stars shouldn’t be having.
Look in the Rear-View Mirror
Other teams have now caught up with the Dallas Stars. The Winnipeg Jets are 1 point behind the Stars. One other worrying thing is that the Stars are 6 points away from not even being in a playoff spot. The Calgary Flames are the first team out of a playoff spot and are only 6 points behind the Stars. The Colorado Avalanche are the #2 Wildcard team and are 3 points behind with 2 games-in-hand. This losing skid is crippling for the Stars who went into this month riding high on the Western Conference standings. This recent falter has other teams back in the division race.
Losing stretches like this are completely unacceptable. It seems that the biggest problem is this team’s lack of ability to finish out games. Multiple blown multi-goal leads along with 12 overtime losses prove this theory. The Stars have lots to work on over the next two months because it is now crunch time on the season. They need to solve this losing skid and fast.
Photo Credit: Dallas Stars Twitter
