DETROIT -It's hard to imagine the Dallas Stars, Detroit's next opponent this Sunday at Little Caesars Arena (5 p.m. face-off), have missed the playoffs eight out of the last 10 years.
Granted, they play in the insanely competitive Central Division, but for most of last season they appeared destined to be a playoff team, but they became fatigued, which resulted in an eight-game losing streak during the season's final month and they were done.
Up next: Dallas Stars
Dallas determined to reverse trend of not making the playoffs
© Dave Reginek/Detroit Red Wings
By
Arthur J. Regner @ArthurJRegner / DetroitRedWings.com
A season of promise and high expectations was washed away, leaving the Stars to ponder what they should do next.
They didn't overhaul their roster or delve much into free agency, instead they brought in Jim Montgomery as their head coach, believing he could take a talented team on paper and maximize its potential.
Montgomery is the Stars' third coach in three years, so if the Stars are going to turn it around, perhaps having consistency behind the bench is a logical start.
The Skinny:
Dallas was not a horrible hockey club last season. The Stars were 42-32-8 for a respectable 92 points, but in the tough Central Division they placed sixth and were three points behind Colorado for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. Besides their top line of center Tyler Seguin, left wing Jamie Benn and right wing Alexander Radulov, the Stars had trouble scoring goals. They averaged 2.82 goals per game, which was tied for 18th in the NHL. Defensively, Dallas had a goals-against average of 2.71, which was tied for sixth overall in the league. In one-goal games, they were 16-5-1 for a .690 winning percentage. Collectively, not bad numbers, but like many NHL teams, a lack of secondary scoring was just too much for the Stars to overcome. The Stars, currently riding a two-game winning streak, are 5-4-0 this young season. Their 10 points are good enough for a sixth-place tie in the Central Division.
The last time:
On January 16, 2018, the Stars defeated the Red Wings, 4-2, at Little Caesars Arena. Jason Spezza's power-play goal at 14:08 of the second period was the game-winning goal, giving the Stars a 3-2 lead. Radulov and Benn picked up the assists. Trevor Daley and Andreas Athanasiou were Detroit's goal scorers; Athanasiou also picked up an assist to lead the Wings in scoring along with Tyler Bertuzzi, who chipped in with two helpers.
The forward corps:
Benn (36-43-79), Seguin (40-38-78) and Radulov (27-45-72) are as offensively gifted as any line in the NHL. However, once you get past this high-scoring trio, the point production really drops off up front. Dallas scored 235 goals last season. Seguin, Radulov and Benn accounted for 103 of those tallies. Dallas needs Spezza (8-18-26), who was often shackled by former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock, to regain his scoring prowess. Former Wings draft pick Mattias Janmark (19-15-34) needs to build upon last year's totals and the Stars are counting on the return of right wing Valeri Nichushkin, their former 2013 first-round pick, 10th overall, after leaving the Stars to play in the KHL the last two seasons. Seguin (3-8-11), Radulov (4-6-10), Benn (4-4-8) and Spezza (2-6-8) have paced the Stars' offensive attack up front during the club's first nine games of the season.
The blueline:
Defenseman John Klingberg (8-59-67) is the best kept secret in the NHL. He is a high-end talent who will be a mainstay on the Stars' blueline for many seasons to come. Two young Finnish rearguards, second-year pro Julius Honka (1-3-4) and skillful rookie Miro Heiskanen, are expected to contribute offensively to support the elite level play of Klingberg. Esa Lindell, 24, (7-20-27) is Klingberg's defensive partner; they have meshed well and should continue to improve as the Stars' top defensive pairing. Klingberg (5-4-9) is third in scoring after the Stars' first nine games and Heiskanen (1-2-3) is beginning to show promise as an offensive weapon from the back end.
The net:
Red Wings nemesis Ben Bishop is in his second year as the Stars' No. 1 netminder. Last season in Dallas, the former longtime Tampa Bay goalie was 26-17-5 with a 2.49 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and five shutouts. This season Bishop is 4-3-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and has registered one shutout. Anton Khudobin is the backup. Last season for the Boston Bruins, he posted a 16-6-7 mark with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and one shutout. He has appeared in two games for the Stars this season and is 1-1-0, with a 3.03 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.
The burning question:
It's simple, will the Stars generate enough secondary scoring to give their top line some scoring relief, thus keeping their top trio fresh for the entire 2018-19 campaign?
The series:
Sunday afternoon will be the 254th meeting between the Red Wings and the Stars, including games when the franchise was based in Minnesota. Detroit leads the series with a 112-101-34-6 overall record. In Detroit, the Wings are 64-44-16-3 and their road record is 48-57-18-3 in games played in Minnesota and Dallas.
