Struggling power play could make huge difference for Stars

EDMONTON, Alberta --Maybe John Klingberg is the most valuable player on the Stars.
While the Stars have actually done a great job of filling in for the injured Klingberg -- who has been out the past nine games with a broken hand -- they have not been able to replace his contributions on the power play.
The Stars have gone 2-for-24 with the man advantage in that span, including 0-for-2 in each of their past two games. Those were two one-goal losses when the Stars really could have used the power play to get a key goal.
And they weren't really close in either game.
"The power play is way too methodical. It's one and done," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery after a 1-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

While you can analyze all sorts of things that have happened to the Stars in their past 1-3-1 run, the power play can fix a lot of them.
Too many defensemen hurt? Give the replacements a bit of a cushion by scoring on the power play.
Heavy travel and tough games in tough situations? The power play can make it all seem so much more doable.
Leaning heavily on backup goalie Anton Khudobun while Ben Bishop is out with a lower-body injury? For Pete's sake, give this guy a power-play goal.
It sounds all so simple, but it really can be.

Yes, the Stars are missing Klingberg, Marc Methot (knee), Stephen Johns (neck/headaches) and Connor Carrick (foot) on defense. Yes, three guys who probably should be in the AHL right now are playing on a regular basis. Yes, this team is playing a more conservative game to help protect that inexperienced blueline.
But that doesn't affect the power play.
It's the one moment in these games where the Stars really should be able to step up. Their trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov gets tough coverage at even strength, but those three should be able to take advantage at 5-on-4.
And yet … they seem to be getting worse.
Montgomery and assistant Todd Nelson have tried to move some things around with Klingberg out. They have given Miro Heiskanen a chance at the point. They have given Esa Lindell a chance at the point. They have given Gavin Bayreuther a chance at the point.
On Tuesday, they replaced Jason Spezza with Devin Shore in hopes of not only getting a little more slot presence and net-front presence on the first unit, but also a little more patience and skill on the second unit.
It didn't work.
The Stars spent a good deal of time Monday at practice working on the power play. To be honest, they use a good deal of much of their practice time working on the power play. And, right now, it's not working.
It's interesting that one of the big things the team is trying to learn under Montgomery is "when to go and when to stay." The new coach wants a strong defensive presence as a base at even strength, but then a shared vision of when to counterattack. It's a tricky balance, and one that could take some time to perfect.
So there is some patience required to move forward.
But the irony is that the same balance is needed on the power play, and the Stars are just as indecisive there. Montgomery wants to get the puck to the net, but he wants to get it there with bodies in place and the presence of mind to do something with the puck once it gets to the net.

Instead, he said, they are just out of sync.
"We're not attacking the net enough, and when there's nothing there, we're not patient enough to not just throw the puck to the net," Montgomery said.
The irony is that in the first five games, the Stars scored seven power-play goals as Nelson had his players on the move and attacking the net. Dallas has five goals in the 20 games since then.
We can get into the lack of depth scoring, but this really does fall to Benn, Seguin and Radulov. Last season, they dominated man-advantage scoring as Seguin had 25 power-play points, Radulov and Klingberg had 23, and Benn had 22. The two next closest were Spezza and Shore at 11 apiece.
That's the way of the NHL. The power play is where the big-dollar players have to collect their points. Good teams do that, and they tilt games in their favor because of it.
Asked if he might consider more personnel moves on the power play, Montgomery shook his head.
"You're not going to take your three best offensive weapons off the first unit," he said. "Part of that is them taking ownership and figuring it out on their own."
Because as tough as this stretch is, the Stars are leaving points all over the road. Anton Khudobin is now 1-2-2 in games in which he has allowed two goals or fewer. Roman Polak is doing yeoman work leading a group of inexperienced defensemen against some of the best players in the NHL. And if the Stars could just get a power-play goal or two every now and then, there would be a lot more talk about just how impressive these role players have been.
"It's got to be an attitude to outwork the penalty kill," Montgomery said. "It starts there."
And it has to start without Klingberg, who might not be back until Christmas. It has to start with the top players finding a way to score huge goals.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika,and listen to his podcast.