Dallas Stars: January’s Precipitous Slide Continues

The Dallas Stars have resembled last year’s team during their recent swoon. Can they snap out of their doldrums and recapture their early season form?

The most recent game for the Dallas Stars was a setback against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Despite a 43-15 shot advantage, the Stars found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 final score. To be honest, the Stars were fortunate they didn’t lose by a larger margin. The Avalanche managed to botch opportunities on two wide open nets, and Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov subsequently put up a wall on the defensive end.

What’s most concerning about the Stars and their disastrous January is a simple lack of grit. On paper, that lopsided shot differential indicated they were just unlucky in a dominant effort. In reality, they were content to live outside the dots and pump the vast majority of their volleys from distance. Consequently, Varlamov was able to see shots with relative ease. The win was even a bit of a surprise among the Avalanche faithful.

This downturn in play is much more about their inability to get to the areas on the ice that reward a more blue collar effort. Currently, there’s been a lack of net front presence. This creates a shortage of tactical confusion for opposition goaltenders. The dearth of traffic between the dots indicates a team relying more on skill than hard work. As the saying goes, “Work beats talent when talent don’t work.” In short, the Stars are a finesse team.

This, of course, does not bode well for the latter half of the season. I stated here that the Stars could play .500 hockey in the second half and still eclipse 100 points. The prospects of that happening have taken a huge hit as the month has unfolded. Wholesale changes in play must be made in order to restore a semblance of the team that opened the 2015-16 campaign.

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While it may be a knee-jerk reaction to suggest that Lindy Ruff’s seat should become a bit warmer, the malaise this team is enduring right now falls at the feet of him and his coaching staff. The Stars have shown an alarming tendency to be content going through the motions. The stomach for the fight isn’t evident.

If the long view is taken into account, it can be reasoned that it’s best to be going through this rough patch now rather than later. The season is very much ensconced in its dog days. Get it out of the system now and come back after the All-Star break ready to push towards the tournament. The Stars are still the third seed in the Western Conference. A berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs is more probable than possible.

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Whether or not this points to better days for the Stars is yet to be seen. What is apparent right now is that this team isn’t playing their best hockey. Intestinal fortitude is sorely lacking. There is time to correct their course, though. The big question is whether or not they can rediscover their guts in the meantime.