First Shift 🏒
Pete DeBoer often talks about the fuel level in his team’s “tank,” as a reference to how it is handing a challenging schedule.
In recent weeks the team was able to manage some pretty tough road trips and still come up with some big wins. On Tuesday, however, the Stars looked flat in a 2-1 loss at Anaheim and there were some real reasons why the energy level might have been low.
One, the Stars are starting to feel the absence of leading minute man Miro Heiskanen, who is out “month-to-month” following knee surgery. Two, Dallas traded for two players from the San Jose Sharks, who had to fly to Dallas, play a game Saturday, practice Monday, and then fly out to Anaheim. And three, a two-week break is coming for most players as the league pauses for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“The focus for me is we have two games left before a big break and two important games and four important points, and we’ve always been a good response team,” DeBoer said of back-to-back games against Los Angeles and San Jose. “I’m looking forward to that.”
Dallas has not lost three games in a row (in regulation) during DeBoer’s three seasons, so bouncing back has been a great trait in the team. They react well to losses and they seem to fix problems quickly. Dallas was on a five-game winning streak before the Anaheim loss and the big reason for Tuesday’s defeat was the fact they just couldn’t convert their scoring chances.
That was a familiar problem earlier in the season, but key players worked hard and came up with solutions.
“I think the power play is a big thing and the big guys have heated up,” DeBoer said. “They were cold to start the season and all of them have consistently brought offense to the table over the last month and a half. It’s like any team in the league, if your big guys don’t score, you’re going to have trouble winning.”
Dallas was struck by injuries to Seguin and Mason Marchment, while also having already faced Robertson and Johnston battling through injuries that slowed their off-season and training camp preparations. However, in the past 21 games the Stars are 15-5-1 while averaging 3.19 goals per game and 25.0 percent on the power play.
The two key players are Robertson, who sits third in the NHL in scoring during that span with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) and Johnston, who is fifth at 26 points (9 goals, 17 assists). Duchene (19 points) and Evgeni Dadonov (17 points) have also been key contributors.
That’s important because the Stars are a team who rely heavily on depth. DeBoer likes spreading the minutes evenly, which has not only been key to having energy throughout a game, but also during times like this when the tank can get empty.
“I think we’ve done a good job on nights we’ve been off a little bit,” DeBoer said. “We’re still finding points, we give ourselves a chance to win every night with our structure, and we’ve done a lot of winning lately.”
Now, the hope is the break will allow some of the injured players to get a little bit better, and allow the big minute guys to get some more fuel.
The Stars used Wednesday for a team golf outing, and that was refreshing. Thursday was dedicated to a hard practice, and now they have a back-to-back to finish the week in California.
“I think it was important before we went into the break that we spend some time together with each other,” DeBoer said. “I think it’s been good. I think it would be better if we win a couple of games to end it.”
