For what length of time is enough?
Everybody involved in a team, including the management, coaches, players, supporters, media, and others, struggles to answer that question. The solutions differ frequently, as do the things that can be done about them.
The Dallas Stars’ 11-3-1 start to the season is comparable to, if not superior to, their outstanding start to the previous one. In his 16 seasons as head coach, it was Pete DeBoer’s finest season opening stretch. The Stars appeared to be among the NHL’s top four teams, continuing where they left off.
The Stars have played ten games and suffered six losses since then. They started that run on Nov. 18 with a home loss to the Colorado Avalanche, and they are now 4-4-2.
Should I become frantic?
Before delving into that query, let’s review some background. Seven of the Stars’ past ten games have been against clubs who are in the running for a postseason position. In those contests, the Stars had a 3-3-1 record. The Stars have played five games at home and five away during this recent run. The Stars finished 2-2-1 both at home and away. The Stars played four games in six days following these ten games, including a road back-to-back and a home-and-home with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which they finished with an exciting 5-4 shootout victory on Thursday night.
The Stars’ performance has been average in numerous areas over the last three weeks. There will inevitably be these stretches during an 82-game season. Last season, the Stars had dropped five of their eight games at the 24-game point. During a period from the beginning of January to the end of February in the previous year, Dallas dropped 13 out of 20 games, including losing runs of two, three, and five games. In the sixth game of the conference finals, they concluded their season.
The Stars play 11 of their 15 games against clubs that are now out of the postseason picture, including four combined games against the two teams that are currently in last place in each conference, after their next two games, which they play at home against the Detroit Red Wings and the Vegas Golden Knights. It is too soon to panic based only on team performance because the team’s standings position will have a fair chance to improve.
When it comes to a few of the specific players, things become murkier. This isn’t about middle-to-depth players; it’s not about healthy scratches eaten by Evgenii Dadonov or Ty Dellandrea, nor is it about players like Jani Hakanpää or Ryan Suter seeing their play diminish over time. This isn’t even about Nils Lundkvist’s tale of healthy scratches.
The 2017 draft class, which has earned the right to be discussed solely in the highest terms thus far, is the subject of this thoughtful discussion. However, it is a reality that Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and require improvement. These players’ poor play isn’t entirely the fault of the team, nor does it call into doubt their position as mainstays. Actually, the spotlight is drawn to that acquired status specifically.
Despite being the finest player on the Stars, Heiskanen’s performance has fallen short of expectations. Though Heiskanen has done these things consistently in the past and achieved better outcomes, there are valid reasons to quibble over, such as the weight he’s carrying on his legs or the fact that he’s playing on his off side. As much as the Stars want to play him and as much as Heiskanen enjoys it, the high-minutes topic is perhaps the most plausible justification because Heiskanen has frequently appeared exhausted. The group has a solution, but it needs to be put into action quickly.
Although Oettinger started off strong, his performance has recently declined. Again, Oettinger can do better, but the play in front of him bears a large deal of the blame and needs to get better. Likewise, Robertson, who leads the club in a number of statistical categories, should improve his shift-to-shift component of his game.
These athletes have all proven over sizable sample sizes that they are capable of playing at a high level. Similar to how team performances fluctuate, athletes’ seasons also have ups and downs. It is not time to panic in any scenario at this time. It is mostly pointless to look at standings prior to the start of the calendar year. After a 4-4-2 run, it’s no more meaningful than it was following the 11-4-1 start.
The players themselves are the focus of attention at this time. As with most things, it starts at the top, but this doesn’t clear the air for everyone on the roster. For the Stars to be at their best, their greatest players must be present. They can and will do so without a doubt, but recently they haven’t done so regularly. Things get restless while we wait for it to happen.
A peek at the Stars’ week is as follows:
Dec. 2: The Stars defeated the Lightning of Tampa, 8-1.
Dec. 4: The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Stars 4-0.
Dec. 6: Florida Panthers defeated the Stars, 5-4.
Dec. 7: In a shootout, the Stars defeated the Washington Capitals 5–4.
