Stars seek response after rough start to road trip

As "stinkers" go, this was pretty stinky.
The Stars on Saturday in losing 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes not only chased savior goalie Anton Khudobin from the game, they recorded 11 shots on goal, the fewest since the team moved to Dallas in 1993.
"We've got to be better," said center Joe Pavelski, who had the team's only goal. "We got what we probably deserved tonight."

It was a subpar performance for a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final last season and started this year 4-0-0. The Stars simply didn't seem to have great energy or great focus, and Carolina controlled the game from the start. The Hurricanes scored just 4:05 into the game when Martin Necas made a slick pass to Vincent Trocheck, who was crashing the net and slipped a puck past Anton Khudobin.
Two minutes later, Trocheck scored on a power play and it was 2-0.
Dallas was outshot 11-6 in the first period, and things got worse in the second period. The Stars put just two shots on goal to 13 from Carolina and allowed two more goals. Khudobin was pulled from the game in favor of backup goalie Jake Oettinger, but Stars coach Rick Bowness said it wasn't because of Khudobin's play.

"It was all the play in front of him … I don't blame Anton," Bowness said. "We just didn't play very smart, we didn't play hard enough."
So was that because it was their first road game of the season? Was it because there were no fans in the building after the Stars played before 4,000-plus in Dallas? Was it because the Hurricanes have been playing very well?
"It was a tough night, obviously," said Pavelski. "They were good and we weren't. They seemed to be on top of us all night, so credit to them. That's kind of the M.O. of that team, they work hard, they skate, they've earned that. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we've got to produce a little more, we've got to be a little better and work a little harder and even the game out a little more."
It was the first real adversity for the Stars this season. Yes, Detroit came back in the third periods of its two games against Dallas, but the Stars always seemed in control. On Saturday, they were in quicksand and fighting the puck all of the way.
Players and coaches said the 11 shots on goal was shocking and unacceptable. Carolina had 26 shots on goal, but also had a 60-35 advantage in shot attempts (on goal, blocked and missed the net). That's usually a pretty good sign that one team has the puck and the other doesn't.

Or that one team wants to shoot the puck, and the other team doesn't.
"We have to work as a five-man unit and get skating," Bowness said. "We didn't put enough pressure on them. Clearly, we passed up way too many shots early in the game and then that just kept going as the game went on. If you come out with a shooting mentality, it continues throughout the game. If you come out trying to make plays that aren't there, and are turning pucks over, then that continues throughout the game."
The Stars as a team are last in the NHL, averaging 22.4 shots on goal per game. However, Bowness said this was a particularly problematic contest. Asked if the blames was on the players or the system, he said players.
"When a guy has a clear shot at the net and he passes it up, it's got nothing to do with the system. It's the player making a wrong decision," Bowness said. "We made a lot of wrong decisions. If you look at the shots on net in the second period, all they were doing was getting the puck and throwing it at the net."
Players said they understand the game plan and simply need to execute better.

"They're a good defensive team, they play with structure and they don't give up a lot," said Blake Comeau. "So that being said, when you get a chance, we've got to be putting those pucks on net."
Comeau was returning from COVID protocol and played his first game of the season. He logged 10:57 in a limited role. Comeau is one of several Stars players who have tested positive for COVID-19 and said his time out was difficult. He added that he'll need some time to get back up to speed.
"Clearly, I was rusty tonight," Comeau said. "I had some symptoms that caught me pretty good the first three or four days - a cough and breathing and stuff like that. But I'm glad to be back with the guys. It wasn't the outcome I wanted my first game back, but we've got a chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow."
And that is a good thing about the NHL schedule this year. It's compressed, so there are a lot of back-to-backs. You play only the teams in your division, so you get consecutive games against the same opponent.
And you're building new rivalries with the chance to send a message or two pretty much every game. The Hurricanes (4-1-0) have sent their message and now the Stars (4-1-0) can respond in a 4 p.m. game Sunday in Raleigh.
"They're a good team, we're a good team," said Pavelski of a budding rivalry. "When you play a game like that, you don't want a two-day break, you want to go again. We've got to respond."

Up next

at Carolina, 4 p.m. CT Sunday
PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C.
TV: FOX Sports Southwest
Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.