Balance.
That’s the mission for the Stars and they will need to find it soon.
Going into the 2017-18 season, the Stars wanted to fix the question marks on defense that plagued the team over the last couple of seasons. The goalie position was high on the priority list. The answer was bringing in Ben Bishop to man the pipes while moving Kari Lehtonen to second-string.
Improving the blueline was also essential in Dallas. So, the Stars went out and grabbed Marc Methot from Vegas, along with adding center Martin Hanzal. The final move was bringing back head coach Ken Hitchcock, who helped the Star win their only Stanley Cup in 1999. As Jared Clinton of The Hockey News points out, Hitchcock is “one of the most revered bench bosses in the league who has a mind for defense.”
Going into tonight’s road game against the Florida Panthers, the Stars sit at 9-8-0, good enough for fourth in the Central division. As of right now, although it’s still early in the season, the Stars are fighting for a wild card spot instead of the division title, where many believed they would be going into the season.
However, this time around you can’t blame the defense.
The Stars are only allowing opponents 28.7 shots per outing. The 2.82 goals against per game ranks in the middle of the pack league-wise. Bishop is keeping the team in the game minding the net on a more consistent level, which is a step above the way things were working in the past.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
So if the defense has stepped up, why do the Stars seem to be underachieving early on in the season?
Well, as Clinton explained, the Stars are struggling in the one area that was their strength over the last couple of seasons- offense.
Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn continue to light up the lamp as usual. Both have eight goals, nine assists and 17 points on the stat sheet. However, outside of John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov, there hasn’t been much support from the rest of crew. Jason Spezza has one goal on 38 shots, Manzel has one on 28 shots and Devin Shore has yet to find the back of the net. The Stars rank No. 19 in the league with 2.82 goals per game. 16 of the team’s 48 total goals are off the power play.
While it may not be time to panic just yet, the division is slowly starting to slip away as the St. Louis Blues continue to stay hot on the ice. If the Stars can find that balance between offense and defense, they could be a dangerous team around playoff time.
