Dallas Stars Fading, Unable To Get Out Of Their Own Way

While it is certainly too early to panic, the Dallas Stars are digging themselves into a hole in the early stages of the season.

The Dallas Stars are in a bad way right now. They’ve lost four of their last five games. In doing so, they have been outscored 17-7 and have been shut out twice. They look disjointed and out of sorts, and it is a bit painful to watch at the moment. Yet it only takes a cursory scratch of the surface to determine why.

Injuries at the forward positions have depleted the attack profoundly. When you are missing the likes of Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky, Mattias Janmark, and Patrick Sharp, there will surely be some falloff. Last season, those four players accounted for 163 points over the course of the regular season. That is just shy of two points per game. It is no wonder why the Stars are having trouble replicating last year’s blistering start. They are missing vital cogs in the machine.

In the meantime, they must play the hand they are dealt. Easier said than done when they are missing the aforementioned forwards. Worse yet, the healthy big guns dot the bad end of the plus/minus ledger. Jason Spezza (-7), Jamie Benn (-6), Patrick Eaves (-3), and Tyler Seguin (-3) need to be counted on to step up and provide a spark and an identity. That is not happening right now, and the Stars are suffering for it.

In losing four of five, it is the identity of this bunch that is sorely lacking. In fact, a more detailed look at their record suggest their problems run deeper than the injuries. To wit, the plus/minus problems are affecting the back end as well. Defensemen John Klingberg and Stephen Johns are both -3 in the early going.

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Further muddying the waters is the Achilles heel of this team: goaltending. The Stars organization saw fit to keep the status quo this year. But given the state of affairs so far, the backstops haven’t been able to stem the waves of shots and goals coming their way.

Saturday night was a prime example. Despite heavily outshooting the Minnesota Wild, goalie Kari Lehtonen surrendered four goals on fifteen shots. That is not going to get get the job done.

The netminding has been further exposed because the offense is currently over a goal a game under their pace from last year.

What it all amounts to right now is a big mess.

The Dallas Stars are in the midst of an early-season gut check. Yes, it is way too early to hit the panic button, but the missing pieces won’t be back anytime soon. They have to find a way to work their way out of this funk with the pieces already in place. This team has too much talent to let a playoff berth evade them.

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Simply put, the output is not matching the expectations. The good news is that the team knows this. From the front office on down, they understand that they need to right the ship. GM Jim Nill and head coach Lindy Ruff have proven that they will tinker with the lineup to produce results. If they stay in this tailspin for too much longer, moves will certainly be made to improve the team.