Heika: Stars have little room for error with emotion, details

LAS VEGAS --To be fair, every team needs emotion and attention to detail every game. That's the cornerstone of winning.
But with the Stars missing four defensemen and still trying to find their way under a new coaching staff, they absolutely have to be dialed in and making good decisions every game to overcome their own shortcomings.
They didn't do that Sunday, losing a 4-2 game to the Vegas Golden Knights and seeing their four-game winning streak come to an end.

As it was in previous games, the Stars were outshot (this time 28-25). As it was in previous games, they spent way too much time in their own end of the ice (losing the battle of shot attempt differential, 65-39). But in previous games, the Stars took advantage of key moments in the game to make key plays and cause the opposition to lose key battles.
On Sunday, they couldn't do that to the Golden Knights (17-14-1).
It was a disappointing night for Dallas (16-11-3), as Vegas lost in Los Angeles on Saturday and had to fly back for this game. The Stars, meanwhile, were waiting in their hotel rooms and well rested. It was a disappointing night for Dallas because the arena was revved up and that included a great many Stars fans who made the trip for the game. It was a disappointing night for Dallas, because they just didn't seem to respond.

"They played a back-to-back, and it kind of looked like we were the ones on the back-to-back tonight," said goalie Ben Bishop. "They had a lot of jump, and we were kind of waiting-and-seeing there."
Stars coach Jim Montgomery said it was actually the second game in a row the Stars lacked jump. He said Bishop rode to the rescue with 41 saves Friday in a home win against San Jose, and that the skaters have not been at their best for the past two games.
"I'm a little concerned right now, because our energy and our emotion the last two games hasn't been what it was," Montgomery said. "We were consistently playing with energy and emotion and a lot of competitiveness, which comes with those two qualities. The last two games we haven't had it."
And they simply can't do that.
As this team tries to get through injuries to John Klingberg (hand), Connor Carrick (foot), Marc Methot (knee) and Stephen Johns (neck/headaches), it has been able to lean on effort and details at key moments of the game. Even Friday, the team did a much better job supporting Bishop in net. And while he did have to stop 15 of 16 shots in the third period, the skaters seemed more engaged and more competitive in puck battles. That shone through at key moments of the game, and it carried over through all four lines.
On Sunday, when the Stars had a four-minute power play while behind one goal, the energy and details were flat. Yes, the second power-play unit that scored two goals in the game had some nice possession, but the first unit was flummoxed again and the result was a pretty efficient kill for the Golden Knights.

"The top unit, I don't know if they had a scoring chance," said Montgomery.
After that, the game was pretty much a slam dunk for Vegas. Of course, there was one more moment of indecision that spoke loudly of where the Stars were. As Dallas tried to pull Bishop for one last chance at a tying goal, Bishop stayed in net and Martin Hanzal jumped on the ice. The Stars took a too-many-men penalty and that pretty much sunk any chance of a comeback.
"You've got to talk to people on the bench," Bishop said when asked what went wrong. "Six guys went out there and I was still out there. I don't know what happened. We'll have to watch it. You've got to wait until I get there before you go out there. It's a tough break to have that happen.
"It's one of those things that shouldn't happen."
Not when the team is dialed in and on the same page, anyway.
Montgomery was juggling lines all night to try to inject some energy, but it just wasn't working. And as for the too-many-men penalty, he took responsibility for that.

"I don't know yet, I haven't spoken to Bish," Montgomery said. "Maybe he thought there was going to be an icing, so just stay in his crease. Marty Hanzal jumped. That's my responsibility to make sure that everybody knows what we're doing. That one's on me."
And he took a similar tact on the energy angle.
It's easy for coaches to simply say the team needs to "play harder," and he's battled that beast a couple of times this season. So when asked about what the Stars need to do to get ready for Anaheim on Wednesday, Montgomery had an interesting answer.
"I thought they out-competed us tonight. But that means as a coaching staff, we've got to find a better way to play better," he said.
Because as the Stars try to keep positive momentum going, they must be good in the details of the game and they must play with emotion.
Again, every team needs that, but the margin for error with this Stars roster in those areas is pretty slim right now.
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.