Heading into Sunday night’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks (12-23-2), the Dallas Stars (21-13-1) have had some concerning talking points, including a lack of power play success, lack of scoring, and trouble winning on the road. The Stars checked every box on that list with a 5-1 win in Chicago, and while beating the worst team in the NHL standings doesn’t get them off the hook, it’s a good place to start. Here are three thoughts on the Stars’ 21st victory of the season.
Stars Finally Score on the Power Play
Before last night, the Stars were 0-for-17 on the power play in their last four games, and even with a goal last night, they are 27th in the NHL with a 15.4% success rate. Much has been said about their struggles in this department, including many calling for assistant coach Steve Spott, who is responsible for the power play, to be fired.
On the one hand, the team can breathe easier. Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal 12 seconds into a five-minute major, giving Dallas a 2-1 lead in the second period. Robertson’s eighth of the season was the eventual game-winner. When a player or a team is struggling to score, just one goal can get the ball rolling. Hopefully, this was the one.
On the other hand, the Stars were 1-for-7 on the night, with 17 shots in 25 minutes of power play time – that averages out to 2.4 shots per PP. Considering one of those opportunities lasted 5 minutes, they should have fired more pucks on net. The PP still doesn’t look right, but they got one in, and maybe that will be a springboard for success in the games to come. Dallas faces the 20th-best penalty kill in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres, on New Year’s Eve. That sounds like a perfect opportunity to keep the ball, or puck, rolling.
Stars Finally Score More Than Three Goals
The Stars scored more than three goals just twice in 14 games heading into Sunday’s contest – both wins. They were 5-7 in the other 12 games when their opponent scored more than three goals just twice. No team can win consistently, scoring three goals or less regularly. It’s just not a recipe for success. The Stars finally broke out offensively, scoring five goals on the night and two in the third period to seal the win, and those two goals cannot be overlooked. The Stars were up 2-0 going into the third period against the Minnesota Wild on Friday, and they lost the game 3-2.
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Many will pour water on the positives from Sunday because of who the opponent was. However, given the last couple of months, who cares if it was the Blackhawks? The Stars did what they had to do to get the job done.
You Get a Point, You Get a point, You Get a Point!
To go along with the lack of scoring, a lack of consistent point production from their best players was another team issue. A couple of players get points on one night and the others get points on another night. On Sunday night, everybody ate, and that’s a great sign heading into the new year.
Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene each had three points – a goal, two assists – and five shots. Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov each had a goal and an assist. Miro Heiskanen had two assists, while Logan Stankoven had one.
It’s been said many times before, but when Robertson is confident, he shoots the puck a lot. He had five shots on Sunday, a number he has only hit four times this season. Five shots is great, but with his talent and shooting ability, there is no reason why he can’t hit that number once a week.
Stars Have Playoff Aspirations
There seems to be a lot more nit-picking about the Stars this season than in the past. That is probably true. The back-to-back Western Conference finalists had Stanley Cup aspirations heading into this season, and so far, they have not lived up to that billing. After last night’s win, the Stars are in the first wild-card spot with 43 points, just one point back of the Colorado Avalanche for third in the Central Division. They are five points back of the Wild and 10 points back of the Winnipeg Jets, who lead the division.
The first round of the playoffs will not be easy, so where they finish in the top eight of the conference might not matter. However, they still have to make the postseason. There are four teams within five points below the Stars right now, so getting in is not promised. Every win counts and Sunday night was one more step in the right direction.
