It was much of the same for the Dallas Stars on Saturday night as they once again fell short of their first win of 2017. But unlike most of their losses this season, last night’s stung in a different way.
Roller coaster. When asked about the Dallas Stars’ performance so far this season, this is typically the first word that comes to mind for many fans.
And that’s probably the best word to describe it. After last night’s loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars fell to 16-16-8 on the season with 40 points. They blew a prime opportunity to start up a win streak on the road that very well could have pushed them into the top three of the Central Division.
Not only that, but their inconsistencies continue to bury them as the season rolls along. They have only built two win streaks all year. The first one lasted two games and the most recent lasted season-high three games. Every other win has been immediately counteracted with a loss the following game.
As a result, Dallas is still dwelling near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Sure the race is only half over and the Stars are still in the thick of it with a handful of other teams, but that won’t last long without consistent wins.
And last night’s game against the Blues was yet another chance to gain consistency and get back in the win column. But they didn’t. Yet another loss thrown in the big bucket.
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But for anyone who didn’t catch last night’s game, don’t waste your time. That’s because the loss perfectly resembled and served as a viable summation of the entire season up to this point. Back to that whole “rollercoaster” theme. Let’s recap.
The Dallas Stars started the game out with an early goal from Lauri Korpikoski. Everything was looking bright and the Stars were off and rolling. This can align with the Stars’ early season hype and the high hopes that many Stars fans were holding.
Then came a fluke goal on an awkward bouncing puck that Kari Lehtonen couldn’t decide how to play. Here is the somewhat spotty start that Dallas put together at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t all the Stars’ fault, though. They had plenty of injuries affecting key players that they were trying to deal with.
Immediately after, the Stars gave up a goal to Vladimir Tarasenko during a Blues’ power play. That goal can play the part of the Stars’ continual problems with counteracting their good play with bad play.
And then the next few events can simply symbolize the roller coaster. Patrick Eaves power play goal makes it 2-2. Then Paul Stastny scores on the power play almost immediately after. That’s 3-2. Then a slick John Klingberg goal ties the game at 3-3. Up and down and up and down. Over and over again.
Then the third period came along. After playing spotty and inconsistently for almost the entire game, the Dallas Stars took control in the final frame. They generated chances, controlled possession, and gave the Blues little to work with.
But then one small mental mistake occurred late in the game, and it resulted in the Stars losing. After St. Louis tossed the puck into the Stars’ zone, all five Stars on the ice closed in on it in the corner. The Blues quickly worked the puck out to the blue line and scored on a Patrik Berglund deflection with 1:54 left in the game as the Stars scrambled to try and get into defensive position.
That event represents the fact that on a majority of nights the Stars outplay their opposition but end up losing because of one mental error? Examples include the game against the Flames in early December, the Rangers game in mid-December, and most recently the Montreal game on Wednesday in overtime.
All in all, the game itself was a perfect replica of the Stars’ season as a whole. Roller coasters. One little mistake and missed opportunities doing them in on multiple occasions. Giving it their all and still coming up short in the most heartbreaking of ways. These are all characteristics of the Stars’ 2016-17 season and of last night’s contest.
And with only 42 games remaining in the season, these negative results are beginning to bury the Dallas Stars. With the second half of the season coming up, the Stars might not be looking at the happiest of endings to this season’s story.
