Dallas Stars' Inconsistency Follows Them to Motown With 4-1 Loss

by Art_M on Nov 30, 2009 10:00 PM CST in Game Recaps Comment 8 comments

Drew Miller (20) celebrates a first period goal while Marty Turco and Trevor Daley stand dumbfounded that the Wings would dare shoot pucks on goal. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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So since the Stars won on Saturday I'll give you three guesses on how the Stars did tonight, but you'll only need one guess of course...

Frustration, thy name is Dallas Stars hockey.

I don't get it. I just don't understand it. How can a team with this kind of talent be so inconsistent?

The first period of this game the Stars looked solid, were going into the first intermission tied 1-1 and in most stat categories were even if not better than the Red Wings. Yeah sure the Stars gave up a flaky first goal again that bounced of Daley's chest and past a frozen Turco - a quick aside: why was Daley on top of the Stars crease and facing his own net like he was? - but overall they carried most of the play in the first. They got a late, late goal in the period to get the Wings doubting themselves.

And then the second period happened. Again!

Darren Helm scored five minutes in to make it 2-1, Dallas didn't get any kind of sustained pressure inside the Red Wings zone until they got just past the ten minute mark of the period and just when you thought Dallas might be ok, Dan Cleary scores at the twelve minute mark and from then on Detroit put on the clamps and Dallas for the rest of the game didn't really seem overly interested in trying to pry them off.

Take James Neal for example: Sixteen minutes ice time, no shots, one missed shot, one hit. Those are not James Neal-like numbers and that type of lethargic play seemed to be a bit contagious.

Oh sure, the Stars still played and even out shot the Wings in the third period, but none of those shots or chances were overly dangerous. Part of that you can chalk up to Wings goalie Jimmy Howard who outstanding all game and part of it you can chalk up to plain 'ol bad bounces and bad luck. I don't want to accuse this team of having no heart or desire to win games because I know that's not true - even in this game. There were moments where the Stars would have had glorious chances to score a goal and get back into the game if not for a missed shot or a timely poke check. At the same time though, you have to work harder for those chances. There is a famous saying that goes "Luck is the residue of hard work" so that being the case, the Stars simply need to work harder it would seem.

Meanwhile the team defense again was out of place multiple times in the game which led to three different goals being deflected in past Marty Turco and while Matt Niskanen did show some slight signs of improvement, Karlis Skrastins and Nik Grossman had off nights. Then again Turco as well looked like he was having an off night and at times moved about as rapidly as a snail when Detroit was throwing pucks on net. But we can't really blame him for the bad night because as I just mentioned, the defense in front of him really wasn't helping much. Thankfully Stephane Robidas kept up his hot, hot play with five hits and yet another point - an assist off a Brenden Morrow tip-in for the Stars lone goal in the game. Even special teams for Dallas was a mixed bag with the penalty kill going a perfect 4 for 4, but the power play looking anything but with an oh for four night.

*looks over last few paragraphs*

See what I mean here? Part of me wants to just blast the Stars for not playing to full potential and part of me wants to forgive the guys for just running into dumb luck and bad breaks and at least focus on the few positives that seem to spring up from every loss they've had this season as a beacons of hope that this isn't last season all over again.

I assume the solution to the Stars problems with inconsistency lay somewhere in the middle of all that. Putting in a full sixty minutes, not allowing themselves to let the bad breaks dictate their play and working hard enough to create puck luck in front of the opposing net.

On Saturday I listed off twelve Dallas Stars as either potential 2010 Olympians or at the very least were getting (or in Niskanen's case, had been getting) a look from their respective countries. The fine gentlemen over at Second City Hockey where they cover the first place in the west Blackhawks? They only mentioned nine players! Now it's not that I think Dallas is that much more talented than Chicago, but I do think it's an indication that these Dallas Stars do have a fair amount of talent on their roster.

This Dallas Stars season so far reminds me of that famous scene in the movie The Matrix where the Oracle breaks news to Neo by saying: "You have the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something..."

We're still waiting.

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Daley was standing right there

On the Halpern goal the other night wasn’t he?

I think a couple of days worth of practices will do this team some good.

by Brad Gardner on Nov 30, 2009 10:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

agree completely

and speaking of consistency, NHL, get your act together. don’t get soft, get consistent. hitting is a huge part of this game, and you better not get rid of it; that’s what the KHL and Swedish Elite leagues are for. this is North American hockey; treat the NHL with the respect its earned over its 100 plus years of existence. make clear set rules for your punishments and keep them. but for the love of god don’t suspend a player for hitting someone who’s watching their pass or hitting someone who’s standing idly on the boards.

and on a side note, i’m personally sick of reading all this crap about hits and suspensions and what not, and people overreacting; this is hockey, this is the fastest sport with the most brutal hits, and if you don’t like it, go watch michael phelps and his mom. no one likes injuries, but seriously, go whine in the stands with phelp’s mom. you shouldn’t be watching hockey.

and Dallas, dear God, get it together. this is old. this isn’t the Dallas Stars i grew up with!!! i want my Dallas Stars’ consistency back!!! yeah, i went there.

by agvdstars on Dec 1, 2009 12:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

AGRRREEEEEE COMPLETELY!!!!

Thank you for your thoughts. I am so sick of the way these games have been officiated this year when it comes to hitting. It IS part of the game and, therefore, the officials need to be consistent in their rulings. It is asinine for a game on one coast to be officiated in a different manner than a game on another coast. The rule book is the same for all teams and all officials and if the officials don’t understand it or don’t want to follow it then they should be relieved of their jobs, or at the very least go for some extensive training. Maybe they should be fined and suspended. This rule about an official that had the intent to blow his whistle but just hadn’t done it yet is not just asinine but it makes no sense. You either intend to do something or you do it and in doing it the play then stops. When the whistle is blown it can be heard and understood. When only the intent is there, there is no reason to stop because there is no sound telling you to stop. Yes, I know these are long and stupid sentences but they fit the rules, long and stupid.

agvdtars – If you can go “there” then I will go “here”, AGAIN. This team will go nowhere with the #1 goalie we have so you might as well just wait until that contract ends and hope an extension is NOT offered. I am NOT saying Alex is better but I am saying Alex makes a fine #2 or back-up, but what we need is a GREAT #1. We need a goalie that won’t just sit on the ice and flop around to show us his athleticism and let the puck go right on by. We must have an intelligent WALL in that net. If we had that in Detroit the outcome would have been much different. How could it not be different? We won with Alex in goal, we lost with Marty.

by StarsRule on Dec 1, 2009 7:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Role Playing 4th line

I think one of the biggest probems with this team is that the role players arent playing their roles. I’ll start with the fourth line. what do you want out of them? a strong forecheck and some hitting to take the other team off of their game a bit and to get a good swing of momentum for our next shift. What has our fourth line done? CONSTANTLY CHANGED PLAYERS. On one hand we have a fourth libe of Petersen Modano and Brunnstrom…. ok good depth of scoring. On the other we have Barch sutherby Modano/ wandell. what are they expected to do? Barch hasnt got the skill to score, i dont know how many times he’s played over petersen but he should NEVER be dressed. I think sutherby does his job better than barch does, AND has decent skill. How many times have we won with barch playing? look up the stat it cant be good. I honestly dont think our fourth line knows what to do because we have such different players playing there.
our other three lines know their role and are producing.

Thoughts?

should we have depth scoring or a legit checking line? should we keep rotating players or have a consistent 4th line? there’s that word again, consistency.

by sundancekid on Dec 1, 2009 10:20 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Consistency

I’m fine with calling them out for some of their play, but let’s be honest- there were plenty of opportunities and they didn’t cash in on them. They looked tired and worn down and gee, I wonder why.

Detroit looked somewhat tired too, but they also looked very methodical. Sure they got “fluke” goals but that’s most of their offense. I’ve never understood why so many people thought they were this amazing offensive juggernaut as it always seemed like their PP was mostly firing bombs from the point while someone stands in front of the goalie and moves when the shot comes through. They get a LOT of ugly goals and are nothing if not determined.

This is where the Stars could steal some ideas. They generate great rebounds and their passing is usually crisp, but there’s NO ONE to close the deal when the rebounds occur. It seems like they’re constantly overskating or are standing on the side of the net when rebounds occur.

And I think Razor is definitely on to something- fire BY the net and have it bounce off the end boards and have two guys standing right there to cram it home! You aren’t going to lose much and it’s going to at least cause a mad scramble. They don’t do that nearly enough.

I’m still very happy with most of their execution, but not cashing in on rebounds is driving me crazy.

They’ve been much better at getting out of their zone, have been very effective at the PK, have been decent on the PP (see above) and have had a lot of energy in the 3rd. Now it just seems like they need to find a way to get going in the 2nd for whatever reason.

by jabudi on Dec 1, 2009 10:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

That was painful to watch

I had a bad feeling about the game as soon as I heard Turco was in net. Unfortunately, Turco at the Joe is still a cause for concern :P

Dallas Stars 4 Life: Stars Blogging From Hockeyville, Iowa

by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Dec 1, 2009 4:55 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

TURCO!!!!!!!!!!?????????

Turco in net anywhere is ALWAYS a cause for concern. Consistently inconsistent he is and you never know which Turco will show up. I don’t think even he knows. Did anyone ever stop to wonder why we can’t seem to get pucks in and the other team can? The difference between efficient and inefficient goalie. And, don’t give me the old “defense sucks” line. There are problems there but look at the shootout when it is JUST goalie and shooter. How many has Marty stopped this year? No defense working there, just one on one and Marty can’t handle it.

by StarsRule on Dec 1, 2009 7:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hits, but slightly OT

I’m going to a game in DC on Dec. 11 so I did a bit of reading about Ovechkin’s incident, wondering if he was going to be out for that day. Saw a familiar name. In the mists of the future, I have a vision… of an autobiography… “Good Players Beat On Me: The Tim Gleason Story.” :)

by laurenb on Dec 2, 2009 11:26 AM CST reply actions 0 recs