Dallas Stars: It’s Time To Get More Physical

The Dallas Stars have been physically overpowered throughout their series with the St. Louis Blues and it’s showing up on the score board.

The Dallas Stars knew that they were in for a very tough series against the St. Louis Blues. Three of the five regular season games between the teams were decided in either overtime or a shootout as the teams looked to be very evenly matched.

One major element that played out during games was the physical nature of both teams. With players like Jamie Benn and Antoine Roussel on the Stars, as well as David Backes, Ryan Reaves and Steve Ott on the Blues, both teams obviously had the capability of impacting games simply due to their hard-nosed play.

That has been the case again throughout the second round as both teams have gotten under each other’s skin…and it hasn’t benefitted the Stars. Through the first three games of the series, the Blues outhit the Stars 102-82, with an eye-popping advantage of 42-23 in their 4-3 Game 2 win.

It’s not just hitting that has been the problem either. The Dallas Stars are being taken advantage of on the simplest of plays, like clearing the puck or staying on the attack.

Head coach Lindy Ruff has been aware of this, as he has opted for Travis Moen over Valeri Nichushkin in certain situations and he’s even played Curtis McKenzie, who was brought up with Brett Ritchie between Game 2 and Game 3.

While forward play has had it’s ups and downs, it’s been the blue line that has suffered the most. One of the reasons the Blues have been able to score so easily has been because of a lack of execution.

Emphasis has been placed on Alex Goligoski and John Klingberg as they have been two of the more noticeable pieces on the team that have failed to provide the defense necessary to win games.

The Dallas Stars have other chippy players like Jordie Benn, Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak that have served as healthy scratches through the second round. You could make the case that they deserve playing time, but the problem is that there is only six positions to be filled and no Stars players that deserve to lose their spot.

You can point back to Goligoski but there’s no way in the world anyone, including Lindy Ruff, would ever consider taking him out of a game. Stephen Johns is the physical presence that the Stars need while Johnny Oduya and Jason Demers have arguably been the best Stars’ defensemen of the postseason so far.

Kris Russell, though he has been beat quite a bit through the first half of the series, is one of the better defensive-minded players on the team. Though he would leave a hole on the blue line, he might be the one piece that the Stars could afford to rest for one night in favor of either Benn, Nemeth or Oleksiak.

Thinking forward to what happens, it’s no surprise to have Jamie Benn pop into the conversation. He has had a tense rivalry with Blues’ captain David Backes dating back to last season. Through the first three games of the series, Benn has logged just two points (1 goal, 1 assist), while Backes has notched four points (2 goals, 2 assists).

Interfering with the apparent rising of Backes as the series progresses could be beneficial to the Stars, and it all starts with Benn’s ability to change the course of a game at any point in time.

The Dallas Stars will also have to worry about their mental toughness. They are facing their first series deficit of the playoffs this season while being down two key players (Tyler Seguin, Patrick Eaves), not to mention the fact that neither of their goalies have shown any signs of being able to stay consistent against a lethal Blues attack.

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To sum things up, the Dallas Stars simply need to be more physical, which could require scratching a few players in favor of youth. If they can’t match the intensity of the Blues, then this series could be over quick.