Road sweet road: How the Stars have turned into one of NHL’s best road clubs

On Sunday night around 10:06 p.m. EST, the Stars wrapped a weekend back-to-back with an overtime loss to the New York Islanders. As Bo Horvat’s overtime goal sealed the deal and the home crowd celebrated Patrick Roy’s first win as the new head coach, Dallas headed for the airport with another valuable point secured.

“Really good effort considering the circumstances,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Back-to-back, Otter was supposed to play but came down with the flu so Wedgy had to go in last minute, and then we lost [Craig] Smith to an injury so we had a short bench. I thought we played a hell of a road game. Sometimes you hit a hot goalie and that was probably the difference tonight. I liked our group’s effort.”

After departing around midnight local time, the team landed at 1:40 a.m. in Detroit. And after a day off, Dallas will look to post a winning record in the final stop of the four-game trip Tuesday against the Red Wings. They are 1-1-1 so far and have pocketed three points against some desperate teams.

And in the opening portion of a stretch that will see Dallas play 13 of 18 games on the road, early success cannot be emphasized enough. After all, playing on the road brings various challenges.

From late-night flights and bus rides, to sleeping in various hotel beds and being away from families for 5-10 days at a time, to wide-ranging climates, a player’s daily routine is regularly altered. There’s also the task with growing accustomed to different rinks and ice surfaces. And lest we forget facing road crowds that can vary from mildly aggressive to over-the-top hostile.

All in all, playing on the road can be an uphill climb for a lot of teams. Finding success can be an even more daunting task.

That’s not the case for the Stars.

Dallas has posted a 13-5-4 record on the road this season. That translates to a .682 points percentage, good enough for third-best in the NHL. Only Winnipeg and Los Angeles have posted better numbers as the NHL passes into the back half of the 2023-24 regular season.

The Stars are one of just six NHL teams with a points percentage currently over .600 both at home and on the road. No matter where they may be, they always seem to have a good chance at picking up points.

And while the overall record is nice, the underlying numbers may be even more impressive.

Offensively, Dallas is averaging 3.14 goals per game. That puts them around middle of the pack in the NHL. But as you dig deeper and take a look through the lineup, the balance of scoring is remarkable.

Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Mason Marchment are currently tied for the team lead with eight road goals apiece. However, only four goals separate 1^st from 10^th on the team leaderboard. Anyone in the Stars’ lineup can score on any given night, giving the team a multi-layered attack. Eight different players have scored a goal in the first three games of this road trip alone.

In addition, nine different Stars have 10 or more road points.

But while the offensive front boasts depth, it’s the defensive end that stands among the NHL’s best.

Dallas is allowing 2.55 goals per game away from home. That’s the fifth-fewest in the NHL. They’ve allowed two or fewer in 5 of the last 7 games. They consistently find a way to stifle and frustrate the opposition in their own barn, leaning on their defensive morals.

Their road penalty kill leads the NHL at 89.7%. They’ve allowed just one power play goal in the last six road games, and have countered that with three shorthanded goals over the span. In fact, they have posted an even differential this season while down a man on the road with seven shorthanded goals scored and seven power play goals allowed. Their +15 road special teams goal differential leads the NHL.

In the crease, the Stars’ team save percentage on the road sits second-best in the League at .920. Both Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood have excelled in enemy territory over the past two seasons, keeping the Stars in games at times and flat out stealing games at others.

Of course, this road success isn’t anything new. Since Pete DeBoer took over as head coach last season, Dallas is an astounding 38-16-9 in road games. They posted the best road record in franchise history last season at 25-11-5 (.671) and are on pace to beat it this year. The team has only lost consecutive road games four times during DeBoer’s tenure.

That’s a far cry from the 19-20-2 mark they posted when away from home two seasons back.

The impressive turnaround can be attributed to a number of things. New coaching tactics, a deep and well-balanced lineup and goaltending that thrives under pressure are chief among them.

But perhaps most importantly is that this team’s confidence level never seems to waver regardless of where they are playing. While the setting and environment may change, the job doesn’t. The team brings the same level from city to city and arena to arena and continues to make it tough for home teams to get into a groove.

And as the Stars dive into the homestretch of the regular season and the playoff push, staying comfortable on the road will continue to be of paramount importance to their overall success.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.