First shift 🏒

The Stars tended to respond well to defeats…or bad games…or just not playing well.

Last year they managed to keep losing streaks to a minimum, and they’ve done it again this year by responding well to tough defeats with wins.

They have another opportunity to do so on Wednesday in Chicago.

Dallas had a 3-1 lead after two periods against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, but faltered in the third period and lost 6-4. Special teams played a big role as the Stars went 0-for-3 on the power play, allowing the Hurricanes to go 2-on-2 with the man advantage. The boys in Victory Green also conceded a shorthanded goal and allowed another goal four seconds after a power play expired. As a result, four of the five power play situations in the game essentially resulted in a goal for Carolina.

“That’s the game,” said forward Jason Robertson.

The Stars have struggled at times on special teams this season. The power play ranks 25th in terms of success rate with 16.1 percent and also 30th in terms of goal difference with plus 7. While the team has scored 10 power play goals, tied for 25th, they have also allowed three shorthanded goals, tied for the third-most.

Dallas only allowed four shorthanded goals in 82 games last season.

So where are the glitches? Dallas got off to a bad start in the first half on Monday and then struggled to come back. Then in the third period, the power play came to an end, the Stars switched lines and Carolina pushed the game forward and got an odd-man rush.

“It’s puck management,” Robertson said. “Most PKers are skilled people, so you have to be careful who is out there. You just have to improve your puck management, and last game we even had a line change, so we have to pay attention to that.”

And could this help improve the success rate of the power play? Robertson said the secret is in all the details.

“It’s about shots, it’s about getting the puck back, it’s about getting through, it’s about winning the tie, it’s about getting out,” Robertson said of the problems facing Dallas. “When you feel good, everything goes easier and you don’t think. It just happens, everything is so fluid and at some point we will get to that point like every year, but at this point in the season it is difficult.”

In fact, the Stars play well at 5-on-5 and are the third-best team at 31 goals and the eighth-best team at 5-on-5 with 48. This plus-17 difference is one of the reasons why the team consists of six players with a plus-8 rating or better. But that makes the special teams play even more annoying. This isn’t just a side note, this is about losing games for a team that is 13-7-0.

“If our special teams were better, maybe we could get a better result,” said Wyatt Johnston, who plays on both the power play and penalty kill. “I think it’s a combination. Making smart plays is one thing because everyone is on the same page.”

Johnston said he understands the argument for applying too much pressure because of problems on the power play and said the Stars shouldn’t get too caught up in forcing plays. At the same time, they can’t just sit back and relax. He said power plays are particularly successful because the man advantage is greater than the penalty kill.

“You have to beat the PK. “The teams that are best on the power play work, get pucks back and make plays,” Johnston said. “But at the same time, you have to have confidence and go out and make plays. That’s why we’re out there, to make plays and score, so you have to have the confidence.”

The Stars hope a nice workout in Chicago helped restore the balance between pride and calm. They said that the team’s story is to find a way to solve these problems.

“It’s my fifth year and honestly we haven’t really had any power play issues this past year,” Robertson said. “We always end up in the top 10.”

That means they can’t let it fester.

“Obviously it’s not good enough right now,” Robertson said. “We can’t help ourselves at the moment. We don’t produce and we don’t even create impulses.”