First Shift: Stars look to get back to winning ways against Senators

The Stars on Jan. 18 played arguably their worst game of the year, losing to Philadelphia, 5-1, and getting outshout 43-15 in the process. It might have been a wakeup call for the team.

In the 13 games since, Dallas leads the NHL in shots on goal per game at 36.5. What’s more, the shot differential for the lads in Victory Green has gone from minus-0.5 to plus-7.0 per game. Those are the kind of analytics that can really help a team win games.

“I think we’re trying to get more pucks to the net, I think that’s playoff hockey,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “You have a lot of shot-blocking teams, a lot of teams that take a lot of pride in not allowing pucks to get to the net. The holes you need in order to get pucks to the net close really quickly, so getting those shots off quickly, changing the angle, having a plan in getting it by the blocks, I think we’ve been working on that.”

The hard numbers are up slightly during the past 13 games, but not as much as you would think. Dallas is 8-2-3 for a .731 points percentage, good for fourth in the league over the span. They were 26-13-5 for .648 in the first 44 games, ranking sixth in the league. The Stars ranked third in scoring at 3.61 and 15th in goals against at 3.05 before Jan. 20. The most recent run has them third in scoring at 3.92 and 14th in goals against at 2.92.

DeBoer said he notices the difference, but said it’s not drastic in the actual game play.

“I don’t think we’re a team that slings pucks all over the ice, but we definitely put an emphasis on getting more shots to the net,” he said.

And situational hockey can dictate things, as well. If the Stars are chasing the game, they could get more shots. If they are protecting a lead, it could be fewer. That said, analytics typically give the edge to teams who have puck possession and take more shots on goal. DeBoer was asked if there is a balance between “quantity and quality” of shots.

“I really think it’s a little bit of both and I really think they go hand in hand,” he said. “You can’t just look for quality all of the time, and I think sometimes the quality comes off the quantity. Because every time a puck gets to the net, you’re breaking down the defense, you’re causing confusion, you’re causing a little bit of chaos in scoring areas, so I think they go hand in hand.”

That said, there is something good in seeing the changes that have taken place in the past 13 games.

“We don’t want to be reckless in our shooting opportunities, but we definitely want to move more toward breaking down the other team with a little more volume than we had earlier in the year,” DeBoer said.

Key Numbers

400
Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen played in his 400th regular season game on Tuesday at New York and scored the team’s lone goal. He leads the Stars in time on ice at 24:55, ranking 10th in the NHL.

7
Stars forward Matt Duchene has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in his past seven games against the Senators, one of his former teams.

3.68
Dallas is tied for the NHL lead in goals per game at 3.63. Ottawa ranks 30th in goals against at 3.57.

He Said It

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy. There is a reason they are having a lot of success. Once again we came back in the third, we believed and obviously every guy in there would rather come out of this with a win, but at the end of the day you have to find some positives."

- Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot after a 3-2 overtime loss at Florida on Tuesday

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.