With lengthy stretch at home upcoming, Stars need to figure it out fast

The Stars stink, and they have no excuse, really.
I actually hate the word "excuse" when it comes to sports teams because it implies they're looking for an easy explanation to what ails them - and I really don't think most teams want that. I've leaned on "reasons" in the past to help explain some of the shortfalls, and I think that's a rational approach.

Last season, Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov and Ben Bishop missed most of the season, and that hurt the Stars. Mix in separate four-game postponements for COVID and a winter storm, and you could convince yourself that Dallas had a harder path than most. That's why it was easy to cut them some slack, especially when you consider they ranked 12th in scoring chances for and second in scoring chances against, according to Natural Stat Trick - a sign they were trying very hard to overcome their hurdles.
The Stars generated a ton of scoring chances but didn't convert enough. They lost close games and fell short of the playoffs. Mix in a 6-14 record in overtime/shootout (where, Seguin, Radulov and Bishop excel) and the "reasons" were sitting there in black and white.
Fast forward to this year, and everything seems pretty peachy. Sure, Jason Robertson missed six games and John Klingberg four, but those are manageable absences, especially when you consider management believes it has its best depth in years. Seguin and Radulov each had surgery and time to recover. Robertson, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen each have matured a year and should be entering the respective primes of their careers. The addition of players like Luke Glendening, Michael Raffl and Jani Hakanpää seem to be positive, and Braden Holtby's been a nice veteran presence in net.
So why hasn't that transferred to the ice?
Dallas is 4-5-2, so all is not lost. However, the Stars' four wins have all been in overtime or shootout and they're the only remaining team with no wins in regulation. Could you point to a road-heavy schedule to start the year as a challenge? Sure. But when you consider this team has had plenty of rest and has seen its share of backup goalies, that record should be better.
And when you look at the numbers behind the performance, you're truly shocked.
The Stars haven't had a two-goal lead since the first game of the season and their time leading (14.7 percent) ranks 30th in the league. They've led after two periods of play only once (that's worst in the NHL). They have the fewest 5-on-5 goals in league (12), and even with a third-ranked power play, their goal differential ranks 28th.
That's not because they've had to play eight road games.
Bottom line, they're struggling to find themselves, and they said as much after a 6-3 loss at Vancouver Sunday.
"We're beating ourselves," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "When you do those things, you're just beating yourself and you're making it too easy for the opposition, and that's what we did tonight in a lot of ways. And we're going to fix it."
They've said that before during this short stint, and the results have been mixed at best. But now, they're entering a stretch in which they have to make hay. After a two-day break, the Stars on Wednesday will start a stretch of 11 games in 27 days. Nine of those games are at home. That should be a formula for winning with plenty of time for rest and practice. It really couldn't be more perfect.
What's more, one of the two road games is a jaunt to Minnesota, where Ryan Suter will get to revisit the place he called home for nine seasons. Two years ago, Joe Pavelski used a return to San Jose to jump start his first season in Dallas, and Suter might find the same effect. It's tough to transition to a new team and a new town, especially at age 36, so that's another built-in bonus that could create a positive for the Stars.
To be honest, there are a ton of good things out there for this team to embrace if it would just do it. Seguin seems to be finding his stride again, with four goals and three assists in the past seven games. Jamie Benn has been playing better. Robertson makes several great plays every game and was probably the team's best player on Sunday. Heiskanen is playing almost 25 minutes a night and averaging a point a game as he stakes a claim as one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
That's a lot to be happy about.
So what's the problem? It's something different every game, and that's on the coaching staff and the players to sort out. They often start slow, they're terrible with the long change in the second period, and they're inconsistent when it comes to passing the puck right now.
As the kids today say, that's not a sustainable plan for winning.
On the other hand, they typically fight hard from behind, they seem to be much better in overtime and the shootout than they were last season, and they have two really good power-play units. If they can keep those tendencies and improve the areas of need, then maybe they can make something good happen here.
Of concern right now is the fact that St. Louis, Minnesota and Winnipeg have gotten off to good starts in the Central Division. Those three teams were supposed to be in the mix with Dallas for the middle of the pack in the division and possibly one of the wildcard spots, so that trio has a head start.
Of equal concern is the fact that Colorado has started slowly. The Avs were expected to be the favorite to win the division, so the belief is they'll eventually right their ship. That means Dallas has a real battle ahead just to make the playoffs.
That's huge because if the Stars miss, there will be plenty of changes. Everyone knows that.
So now is the time to come together and start winning games.
They have no excuse, really.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.