Stars Waking Up Before Crucial Home Stand
By Ben Davila
A small sample size seldom defines a team’s fate, but by winning their last two games, the Dallas Stars are showing a renewed commitment to defense.
Just when the Dallas Stars seemed to be losing their grip on contending for the NHL Central Division title, they’ve posted consecutive wins against Eastern Conference squads desperately playing for their postseason lives.
Yes, the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators don’t represent the best of the East. But for a heretofore struggling Stars’ team, progress must be measured in the only bottom line that matters in professional sports: wins.
In that regard, the Stars have shown an overhauled intensity when it comes to protecting their defensive zone. Funny how paying attention to detail goes hand-in-hand with winning games.
The recent uptick began on Friday night against the Devils in a 4-2 win. Despite a nagging and continual lack of scoring from forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, the Stars received contributions from their depth in the form of critical goals from right wing Valeri Nichushkin and veteran center Vernon Fiddler, who was playing in his 800th career NHL game.
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Their efforts carried over in a tight, defensive-minded tilt against Ottawa on Sunday at Canadian Tire Centre. Left wing Antoine Roussel gave the Stars’ fans in attendance reason to celebrate when he potted the go ahead goal with 2:14 remaining in the third. The dramatic late tally provided the deciding margin in a sorely needed 2-1 win.
Winning games against the eleventh and twelfth seeds in the Eastern Conference may be admirable, given the way this bunch has been struggling for the past two weeks. But they need to push through and get two points against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. What looms beyond is a stretch of games that may well define the rest of the season.
Starting on March 11th, the Stars will embark on a five-game home stand that will see them face off against the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Islanders. Every last one of these teams are at the very least playoff contenders, if not vying for the top spot in their respective divisions.
In short, the need for a large measure of testicular fortitude is necessary. The scoring from secondary players is nice to have at the moment, but Benn and Seguin need to shake free from their recent disappearing act and provide the scoring punch that players of their caliber are supposed to provide. This team will only go as far as the top line takes them.
We are about to learn a tremendous amount about this year’s Stars’ team. Strong finishes in the past two years would suggest another surge this year. It’s not a given, but the track record is there.
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What we don’t know is how this team is going to respond to the last two-months-and-change of mediocrity. But if the last two games are any indication, their arrow is pointing up. What we do know is that the gauntlet of games in front of them will be a true test of the entire organization’s character.