Heika’s Take: Adversity continues mounting as Stars fall to Avalanche

The Stars are currently in the middle of facing some real adversity this season.

Battling some injuries, some extended travel, and some really good teams, Dallas has won just once in its past seven games, dropping to 1-3-3 after a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

The challenge was daunting as the Stars had to travel into high altitude to play the team with the best home record in the NHL. The results did not create a lot of confidence, especially when Dallas is in a battle for first place in the Central Division with Colorado and Winnipeg. The Jets have won four straight and taken over first place in the division with a 37-15-5 record. They have four games in hand on the Stars. Colorado has been wobbling lately, but is now 36-19-5 (77 points), and just two points behind the Stars, who are now 35-17-9 (79 points).

It’s early in the process, but the playoffs make you get out of the divisions, so Winnipeg would play a wild card team as it sits and the Stars and Avalanche would play each other in the first round.

“It’s a great test whenever you get to play them, and if we go where we want to go, we’re probably going to have to go through those guys,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said.

That could be a challenge, as Colorado is 3-0-0 against Dallas this season. The Avalanche use their speed to back teams off, and the Stars have struggled with that at times.

“Considering the back-to-back, I thought our guys battled hard and worked hard,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. ”There were a handful of moments in the game where their speed overwhelmed us and they were opportunistic, they stuck it in the net when they did get those chances.”

Oettinger stopped 22 of 27 shots, while Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev had 33 saves on 34 shots. In a showdown of two highly decorated goalies, Georgiev had the big night.

“I knew before this challenge that I was going to have to be a leader and step up in this game, and I felt at times I did,” Oettinger said. “Then I had a couple of chances to keep it tight and they got a couple on me. You know you’re going to be on your heels against them, especially in their building, so those are the times you need those saves.”

Oettinger has had an up and down season. He had ankle surgery in the summer, battled a groin injury that kept him out for a month, and simply has not posted great numbers up to this point.

The 25-year-old entered the season with a 2.42 GAA and .916 save percentage in 139 regular season games. He has a 2.98 GAA and .901 save percentage this season.

“It’s tough,” Oettinger said of the struggles to get his game in line. “I think when things are going good, you look at your numbers all of the time. When they’re not, you try to not look at them. The position is tough because sometimes the numbers don’t tell the whole story. I just want to win and help this team win and I’m going to try to be a little better every day.”

The game started perfectly for Dallas, who was battling some tough odds. Against opponents on the second night of a back-to-back and traveling into Denver, the Avalanche have won 13 straight contests. But Dallas scored just one minute into the game, as Wyatt Johnston made a perfect pass to Logan Stankoven, and the rookie slapped in the second goal of his career in just his third game.

The Avalanche bounced right back and tied things up when former Stars Andrew Cogliano and Joel Kiviranta combined on a beautiful play in transition where Oettinger was just a bit late trying to slide from post to post. The next goal was a shot in which Oettinger had a problem with a rebound and then a mad scramble.

That made it 2-1 after one period, but the Stars came out and dominated the early part of the second. Dallas had several great scoring chances and seemed destined to tie things up, but Colorado took advantage of a transition play and Cogliano put one top shelf for a 3-1 lead.

Nathann MacKinnon scored 50 seconds later and Artturi Lehkonen added a power play goal to make it 5-1 at second intermission.

That left the third period as an exercise in running out the clock and getting ready for another big showdown. The Stars will host Winnipeg on Thursday, and the stakes will continue to rise. But that’s what you expect when you’re battling in this division.

“The guys didn’t quit,” said DeBoer. “They worked hard. You’ve got to have a short memory in this league and get ready for the next game, and the next game is a really important one.”

And with the team recording just one win in its past seven games, Thursday might be one of the biggest tests of the year.

They’re huge, especially this late in the year – four-point swings,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “We’ve got a great opportunity to turn this around. It’s going to take every guy in here to do that.”

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.