It’s time for the Dallas stars to move on
Jerome Miron-USA Sports TODAY
As I wrote before, I like the Dallas Stars to get to the knockouts and do some serious damage while they’re there.
But they certainly didn’t have a strong start to the 2021-22 campaign. And while they’re currently on a two-game winning streak – only the second time this season they’ve won more than one in a row – it’s important to take a look at the All-Stars’ season and see if we can. Can’t figure out what happened to them.
Dallas was widely expected to win on defense this season, and the Stars won their opening game of the season, then lost the next two. They then won two games in a row, before hitting a big loss: from the October 25 loss to Columbus to the November 10 loss to Nashville, the stars dropped four games in a row and six in seven games resulting in two wins now.
What is the constant for this 4-6-2 starting date for the year? The answer was “lack of offense”. In their first 12 games, the Stars scored just over 2 goals 3 times. They had a poor seventh-place scoring-per-game average of 2.57, and their scorers and defense failed to save them, allowing an average of even 3.00 goals conceded (14th worst). in the tournament).
Netminders stars Anton Khudobin and Braden Holtby have had roller coaster seasons so far; Khudobin has a better record at 3-2-1 (Holtby’s difference is 2-4-1), but his save percentage (0.897) and average goals conceded (3.03) are worse than Holtby’s. (0.918 SP and 2.54 GAA) . Holtby simply doesn’t have the support many of his fellow goalkeepers across the league have received.
This is not for the Dallas players to start the extra game. They have the fifth worst penalty kicks (73.3 percent efficiency), and they don’t contribute much to offense: young D-man star Miro Heiskanen has 10 assists and 13 points in 14 games, but then, the next most productive blueliner is veteran John Klingberg, who has… um, 3 assists in 10 games. Sure, you’d expect more from your group of defenders, and if not, you hope at least they don’t hurt the team in their own area.
Likewise, the Star forwards failed to provide a vital assist in Dallas’ final game, and that is acceptable if they spark offense. Except for their two previous wins (when they scored five goals in each), they have failed to do so. While it’s great to see Heiskanen create at a near-point-per-game rate, you don’t want him leading the team in points. However, that is exactly what happened with Dallas. After Heiskanen, the Stars’ No. 2 striker is veteran striker Joe Pavelski, who has 5 assists and 9 points in 14 games.
And after Pavelski, Jason Robertson, who also has nine points. Then there is the central star Tyler Seguin, who has only 5 goals and 8 points in 14 games. First-year buyout Ryan Suter also has eight points, putting him one point ahead of winger Alex Radulov and two more than captain Jamie Benn (three goals and six points in 14 games). Again, you don’t want your defenders to be among those leading the team producing points, but that’s what’s happening to an extent in Dallas.
The Stars’ current winning streak has seen them beat the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings – two competing groups, but neither is considered a true Stanley Cup leader. The more precise test came in their next four games, when they played Wild in Minnesota, then hosted St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche. GM star Jim Nill has turned this team into a team with pay caps, but he needs to see progress soon, before settling on his ability to handle the away morsels.
Dallas still has time to build some momentum and start operating before the March 21 trading deadline. What they can’t do is keep squeezing their clubs and disappointing themselves at the end. attack. They need to give their goalkeepers some breathing space.
We know the Stars will rely on defense to win games, but it’s not hard for this team to score.
https://www.si.com/hockey/news/its-time-for-the-dallas-stars-to-step-up It’s time for the Dallas stars to move on
