Stars hope more consistent schedule will help in building a rhythm

Given the questions of what he’s liked in two games this season and what his team needs to work on, Stars coach Pete DeBoer leaned heavily on the work aspects.

“It’s early season hockey, so it’s the wrong thing to ask a coach,” DeBoer said with a smile.

The Stars are 1-0-1 and are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at Vegas on Tuesday. They are preparing for a Thursday game at Anaheim, and the challenge is to get into a flow while playing for just the third time in 12 days. Dallas had a strong practice on Wednesday and some diligent film work, and the message was to do the things that need to be done to get better.

“As we get into it, it’s an adjustment to games again, and that’s just part of the process,” said forward Tyler Seguin. “Unfortunately for us, we had a game and then a week off, and that makes things tougher, but we’re looking forward to playing more and getting in that rhythm.”

Dallas used the four-day break between games to take a team bonding trip to Palm Springs, and all in the organization believe that will pay off, but Vegas played its fourth game on Tuesday and the Stars have to start catching up. One of the issues is that games require a different intensity and focus than practice, and you can only get into that mindset by playing. The other is that Dallas was without Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston and Radek Faksa at times in preseason, which meant they couldn’t really practice in their preferred lines in order to build chemistry.

While the Stars had some great moments against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday, they also had moments that were highlighted in video sessions on Wednesday.

“There’s some good stuff, but from a coaching perspective you’re trying to build your game and work on the things that I think you need to work on,” DeBoer said. “For me, last night I thought our breakout execution, our transition execution wasn’t great. We didn’t create enough rush and room for ourselves in those areas. That was partly due to them and their checking, but we could have helped ourselves more.”

And that’s the message. There are always things the Stars can do better, and they showed last season that they are smart about creating an environment that fosters improvement. When the players were told the coaching staff was focused on work, it wasn’t a surprise.

“I think at this point in the season, we want to correct everything we can - look at the bad stuff and the things we need to improve on, because we hold ourselves to a high standard,” forward Jason Robertson said. “It’s only two games into the year, it’s going to be a long season, and what we need to do is focus on tomorrow.”

The Stars last season were under a new coaching staff learning a new system and still found a way to get off to a 4-0-1 start. That’s a lesson they’re leaning on now as they try to make tweaks instead of massive changes.

“I think early last year it was learning to play a different brand of hockey,” DeBoer said when asked about reducing the amount of penalties the team is taking. “We want to be aggressive, we want to be around the puck, we want to have numbers. It takes a little while sometimes to find that line. And I think it’s also early season reffing. You get a lot of calls that you might not get later in the season as guys get used to the standard.”

Dallas gave Vegas four power plays on Tuesday, including a 5-on-3. The Stars have yet to allow a power play goal, but DeBoer said goalie Jake Oettinger was a big reason for that against the Golden Knights. The Dallas power play also has not scored, but has created chances.

“I think both special teams have been okay,” DeBoer said. “I thought Jake was our best penalty killer last night. They easily could have stuck one in the net, so I thought we gave up some looks that we would have liked back.”

Then he summed things up succinctly.

“Right now, as a coach, you’re really not happy with anything,” he said. “Everything is a work in progress.”

But that progress will be a lot better if the Stars can continue to find a way to get points in the standings. While we could look at either of the first two games as good or bad, Seguin pointed out the best part.

“We have not gotten zero points in any game, so that’s a good thing,” he said.

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.