Getting defensive: Stars proving to be tough nut to crack

When the Dallas Stars defeated the New York Rangers, 2-1, on Monday, it was the third straight game the Stars had held their opponent to one goal and the sixth time in the last eight games that the opposition had been able to score just once against Dallas.
That recent run in which the Stars have allowed just 13 goals over eight games (1.63 per game) has pushed the Stars to fifth in the NHL in goals against at 2.56 per game.

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"Obviously, our goalies have been playing great. It starts with them," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "Our defense corps has played a pretty solid game. They are not the flashiest bunch, other than that one guy. They get the job done. It's what we do as a group out there in our defensive zone and take care of our end and the attention of the little details that have put us in a good spot in our goals against."
That one flashy guy on defense -- John Klingberg -- offered his take on the team's dwindling goals against average.
"Our plays with the puck and our offensive zone play is helping us not play as much defense either," Klingberg said. "But when we have to play defense, we know what we have to do. But I think we are playing so good with the puck and offensively - maybe we don't score enough goals - but we are playing smart, and that's making us play less in the defensive zone."
The Stars' goals against numbers have been a work in progress this season, but the progress has been impressive. The Stars have seen a steady drop in the numbers throughout the season. If you break down the season into ten-game segments the Stars goals against have gone from 3.1 in the first ten, to 2.9 the next 10, to 2.8, 2.3 and 2.1 through the first 50 games. Over the last four, it's been 1.25.
Stars coach Ken Hitchcock also credits goaltenders Ben Bishop (2.44 goals against average/.919 save percentage) and Kari Lehtonen (2.22 goals against average/.919 save percentage).

"The numbers are really good because of the goalies," Hitchcock said. "They've made big saves, and they've made big saves at the right time, and that's helped us manage the game."
And Hitchcock also credits the Stars forechecking, which has kept the Stars in the offensive zone a lot. A trend he saw early in the season, and that's paid dividends in helping bring the goals against numbers down.
"That's how you play defense in the league. You can't back up, you can't counterattack, you can't sit back in this league and expect to be a good defensive team. The only way you can do it is by how much time can you occupy in the offensive zone," Hitchcock said. "The analytics we had, our numbers were showing us that we were spending a lot of time in the offensive zone and you thought if it kept trending that way that we were going to be good defensively. I think people look at it from an offensive standpoint, but as a coach, you look at as much time as you can spend in the offensive zone helps you become a good defensive team. That's what I was seeing early in the season."
The Stars lead the league in fewest high-danger chances against per 60 minutes 5-on-5 at 9.12, according to naturalstattrick.com, and they rank fourth in the NHL and tops in the Western Conference in 5-on-5 goal differential at plus-19.
The Stars have allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of their last 16 games and one goal or fewer in eight of the last 15 games. For the season, the Stars have allowed one goal or fewer in 18 of 54 games and are 17-0-1 in those contests. They are 24-2-2 when allowing two goals or fewer.
And those strong defensive numbers bring confidence.
"There are going to be really tight games," Klingberg said, "but as you are confident in your defensive zone and playing good with the puck and defensively, you are going to win games. Look at the offensive power we have, we are going to have enough chances to get our skill in the game as well."

Notable

Everybody was on the ice for practice Wednesday morning, and the line combinations and defense pairs were the same as Monday's game against the Rangers, but coach Ken Hitchcock was unsure about his lineup for Thursday's game against Chicago.
"I don't know about that. We are day to day on a lot of guys," Hitchcock said. "We've got everybody out on practice today, and we'll see how we feel. We're not assuming anything right now with what we've got going. A lot of teams are in the same boat. We'll just take the whole group on the road."
Hitchcock said defenseman Marc Methot, who has played one game since Nov. 6 due to a knee injury, is getting "closer and closer" to returning to the lineup.

Practice Lineup

Here's how the Stars lined up in practice Wednesday.
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Devin Shore - Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Remi Elie - Martin Hanzal - Brett Ritchie/Gemel Smith
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Greg Pateryn
Stephen Johns - Julius Honka
Marc Methot - Dillon Heatherington
Kari Lehtonen
Ben Bishop
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.