Heika’s Take: Offensive woes still lingering as Stars drop 2-1 loss in Nashville

The Stars have stumbled out of the blocks, but the race is longer this year.

After a 2-1 loss at Nashville on Saturday, Dallas is 0-2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2019. That said, they have 82 more games to catch up in this 84-game campaign.

Just as concerning, the team has only one goal in its first two games. Bottom line, they were hoping for more.

“Obviously not where we need to be,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “Slow starts. First periods have been terrible. It’s on the players in here.”

Truly, it’s on everybody, but the players were taking their share of the blame on Saturday. Dallas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game, but then had a sag when Nashville pushed back. Then, when the Stars finally snapped to life in the third period, they couldn’t find a way to get the puck in the net and even the score.

“We don’t get out as clean as we’d like and then we are defending,” said forward Mikko Rantanen when asked if the offensive woes revolve around creating chances or finishing. “We got some looks in the third but couldn’t finish. Then, we’re not generating. It has to be both.”

The team is really inconsistent right now.

Both St. Louis (a 4-0 winner on Friday) and Nashville showed some real hunger at times, and the Stars couldn’t match that. It’s a concern for a team that prides itself on intensity and compete.

“We’re obviously not happy with the first 30 minutes, but the third period is when we were winning battles and forwards were helping the D,” forward Mikko Rantanen said.

Thanks to a strong third period, Dallas finished with a 30-26 advantage in shots on goal, a 65-52 edge in shot attempts and more quality scoring chances than Nashville. But it wasn’t close to enough.

"It's gotta be 60 minutes right from the drop of the puck,” Benn said. “For this group, it's unacceptable. Like I said, it's gotta be a full 60."

Benn has been a bright spot on the young season. The new lighter version of the Dallas captain was noticeable in 13 minutes of ice time Saturday, playing on a line with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson.

“I feel good,” Benn said. “I believe I have more in here.”

Coach Glen Gulutzan shuffled his lines and saw a spark, as he put Sam Steel with Johnston and Rantanen, and then had Tyler Seguin with Justin Hryckowian and Arttu Hyry.

“We’re going to have to do that to find the right mixture to get us going,” Gulutzan said. “We’ve got a few guys like that. Whether it’s Ritzy, Steely, Benny, Seggy, all of those guys did it tonight. As a 20-man group, we just need to execute at a higher level.”

The Stars are missing Matt Duchene to a lower body injury, but they should have the depth to make up for that. Colin Blackwell jumped in and played well on Saturday, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen continues to be the best player on the ice. He scored the team’s only goal, played 24:35 and had five shots on goal. Still, others have to be better.

“We’ve got to find a way to score dirty goals,” Benn said. “They can’t all be pretty.”

That resumes on Monday with a home game against San Jose, and then road games at Buffalo and Pittsburgh. It doesn’t get easier, but that is the challenge.

“It’s creating chances and finishing,” Gulutzan said of the offensive woes. “We’re not creating at a high level right now. A lot of that stems from how we’re breaking out pucks and the other part is we’re spending too much time in the D zone losing battles.”

Which means there is plenty to work on.

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 X @MikeHeika.