The Dallas Stars persisted with some historic struggles against the Avalanche, but are up to speed on what is slowing them down.
In every story, with every epic hero, there are fatal flaws that blindside them every time. With the Stars, we know these flaws inside and out. The classic third period struggle, the consistency failure, and of course, the catch-up game. While they arguably suffered from all of these, the catch-up game was the fatal flaw that did them in.
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Blackout Dallas 23hDallas Stars Have Tough Central Road Ahead Over Next Month
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One thing the Stars have not commonly struggled with is firepower. Offensively, Dallas has been on top, and usually does not struggle to score. This was still true last night, while they did allow themselves to be outshot tot he point of no return.
One contributor of this was goaltending, shattering the good impression Antti Niemi made in the season opener after allowing five goals on twenty shots for Colorado.
Before I go any further: positive moment. Tyler Seguin and Kari Lehtonen got a chance to show up in an important way for the first time this season. While depth players have had a chance to carry the offense so far, Seguin and Benn both got to add to the tally and signal that there is definite hope for Benneguin ’16.
Lehtonen, who replaced Niemi seven minutes into the second period, also allowed only one goal for the rest of the game. So we could see the tandem system in full force this season, depending on how long a starting goalie can hold it together, so to speak.
But, back to the catch-up game. The Stars blew a 2-0 lead which then turned into an ugly 5-2 score. The only option at that point is to throw anything and everything at the net. From the past, we know that this kind of pressure and mentality does not produce good Stars hockey.
Less shots usually equals more accurate shots, and staying ahead imbues them with the confident to carry the lead.
Last night, though, the Stars were off. Haunted perhaps by their nasty record at Pepsi Center, or maybe just still figuring out what this season’s Stars will look like, Dallas did learn a lesson.
Seguin admitted after the game that they looked like a Stars team much removed from all their recent achievements, hearkening back to a team that tried to outscore its opponents every night without putting up much of a fight on the other end.
But we do know that the Stars have developed on the other end and are growing into a team that does good hockey all around. Let’s chalk this one up to the pressure of succeeding in a barn where they haven’t much in the past, and set our sights on Nashville tomorrow.
Taking on a fellow Central division opponent is the real test here, and hopefully the Stars have identified their downfalls and are ready to come out in full force early to avoid playing the catch-up game against the Predators.
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