It's interesting to see how performances from game to game are judged, whether it's a win or a loss.

Last weekend, the Dallas Stars skated away with a 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild despite an extremely frustrating game from the home team. Players weren't happy and Glen Gulutzan was noticeably upset after the win, a win that was extremely important given the circumstances.

A few nights later, following an even worse game against the Phoenix Coyotes, the Stars roared to a 3-0 lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets with perhaps their best start to a game in nearly a month. Yet the Stars fell apart in the second period and allowed the Blue Jackets to pull within a goal. If not for a monster game from Kari Lehtonen and a big final minute stand, the Stars might have seen two important points slip away.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, that exact scenario played itself out in Buffalo. Ahead by two goals, the Stars succumbed to a late-game charge by the Sabres and allowed the tying goal in the final seconds -- going on to eventually lose in the shootout. The loss was unfortunate, as the Stars had played one of their more complete games of late and looked to have finally figured out what was ailing this team over the past few weeks.

Yet, we look at the loss with more optimism than we do the win against Minnesota and Columbus. The Stars played incredibly sloppy in those two wins, with turnovers leading to some soft goals against and mental breakdowns leading to some dicey special teams play. Sandwiched around one of their worst games of the season at home against Phoenix and it's understandable why fans were starting to light the torches, frustrated beyond belief with more inconsistent play.

After the loss in Buffalo, the Stars are still well within striking distance of a playoff spot and still control their own destiny. The team looked dangerous at times against an improving Sabres team and the chemistry that had been lacking was suddenly present. So we can look upon this loss with more optimism than doubt, with the hope that perhaps this team can actually figure things out and build some momentum.

It doesn't hurt that the Stars also have Kari Lehtonen in net.

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"If you put up 45 shots and lost 2-1 against an outstanding goaltender, you've got to live with those. But if you get outplayed and outworked and your goaltender stands on his head to keep it close, I've got a big problem with that."

Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan was not happy after his team's 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night. It's become a running theme for this team since the holidays, when it seemed the Stars had finally turned things around and were gaining momentum. Unfortunately, the Stars have apparently lost confidence in their game and it's affecting every aspect of their play and now, perhaps worst of all, their level of energy and effort in these games is now lacking.

The Stars had won three of four games coming into Tuesday's matchup with Phoenix, with poor efforts masked by the stellar play of Kari Lehtonen in net. In all three wins Lehtonen was clearly the star of the game, including the six-goal outburst against Anaheim coming out of the break. While having a good goaltender assist in carrying a team through tough times is great, this trend is becoming tiresome.

"We weren't very good again," said Glen Gulutzan. "Even with a real good goalie performance, we got outworked by a team that played last night."

I always hesitate to harp on "effort" and "passion" when attempting to analyze losses. To me that can lead to poor analysis and is a bit of an easy out for those of us carrying the team, as we try and determine the deeper, more realistic reasons for this team's struggles. I have personally fallen into that trap before. After last night, however, it's impossibly to overlook the complete lack of passion this team possesses on too many nights.

This is something we've written about before, too many times. This is a team that can ill-afford to have lapses in effort and execution and when the Stars aren't playing aggressively and confidently, they'll get run over by the opposition. Once again, the Stars are dangerously close to being completely left behind by the teams fighting for the postseason right beside them....

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When Brenden Morrow was placed on injured reserve late last week, the Stars decided to move Eric Nystrom to the second line with center Mike Ribeiro in order to try and replace Morrow with a somewhat similar player. Nystrom is a guy that can go get the puck, he'll go straight to the net and he has the finishing ability that Ribeiro needs in a winger.

At morning skate on Saturday, coach Glen Gulutzan had moved Nystrom up to the second line but had also shaken things up a bit further. Loui Eriksson was back with Jamie Benn and Michael Ryder was playing with Ribeiro. It was interesting to see and frankly a bit exciting. Eriksson had enjoyed his greatest offensive success this season with Benn and with the Stars struggling offensively it was going to be interesting to see how quickly they could regain that magic.

Instead, the Stars changed the lines back to how they had been before. For the game against the Wild, Eriksson was back with Ribeiro and it seems the same will hold true tonight against Phoenix. You can understand the reasoning, but after another pointless night for Eriksson the question becomes, "what's the best way use for Loui Eriksson right now?"

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Last week, we discussed how the Dallas Stars are caught in the middle between fighting for the playoffs this year while being an average team overall while also being a team attempting to build for the future. It's an interesting dilemma for a team that desperately needs to play well and get to the postseason in order to continue rebuilding the fanbase, yet also must keep in mind that this Stars team is still a few years away from being a legitimate contender.

Since Tom Gaglardi purchased the Dallas Stars in late November, he and his team have done a great job of making some quick changes in order to help promote the team better in Dallas. While most of their focus has been on rebuilding the front office and getting the business side of the organization back on track, we've seen a drop in ticket prices and an increase in entertaining promotions for games -- such as Hockey For Heels.

Getting the fans back into the AAC has been a tall task, yet we've seen a steady increase in attendance since November with Saturday's game against Minnesota selling out. The trick is going to be to hold onto those fans and to increase interest in the Stars in the Dallas area, something that really can't happen without a postseason berth, even as an 8th place team.

So, just how important is it to make the playoffs and how risky should the Stars become in order to accomplish that goal?

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One of the big issues the Stars have faced this season has been the inconsistent play of the second line. The first line has never been an issue. Loui Eriksson, Michael Ryder, Steve Ott, or whoever is out there with Jamie Benn generally ends up making things happen. He has been the Stars best player by far this season, and when he's on the ice everyone is better. The Ribeiro line, on the other hand, hasn't been inconsistent though. We've chronicled the hit and miss nature of the trio throughout the season.

The point totals aren't terrible for Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow. They've had little consistent drive to the net though. When they do take shots they usually aren't quality chances as I chronicled here. The Morrow/Ribeiro duo has never been particularly good defensively. The offensive struggles have manifested themselves in the defensive end this year, compounding the problems.

Some of that is due to injuries to Morrow. Age looks to be unfortunately catching up to him. The neck and back issues have taken their toll. The line as a whole has been a mess, but they've continued having significant ice time handed to them anyway. The Stars desire to roll the top lines consistently has been documented via coaching staff quotes throughout the season, and through charts like the one I generated a couple of months ago called an OZQoC. That chart, plus a look at recent zone start percentage numbers, after the jump.

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The week following the NHL's All-Star break was another emotional rollercoaster for Dallas Stars fans, marked by a big win, a big loss, and a game where they let a critical point slip away to the last team they need to be helping out. It also gave Dallas Stars fans another opportunity to show Ed Belfour just how much he means to this team and community, with a pre-game Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the American Airlines Center.

It was all hands on deck Wednesday night, as the Stars rode 6 different goal scorers to a healthy shellacking of the division rival Anaheim Ducks, on the road. Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler, Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder, Sheldon Souray and Stephane Robidas all lit the lamp with individual tallies in a game that was never really in doubt. It was a fantastic confidence building unofficial start to the second half of the season.

Consistency, or rather a lack thereof, would once again rear it's ugly head just one night later, as the San Jose Sharks would win their fifth in a row against the Stars in convincing fashion. Three powerplay goals against, countless boneheaded mistakes, and a general lack of organizational soundness highlighted exactly what this team has been struggling with all year long. World beaters when things are looking good, bottom feeders when adversity strikes.

Luckily the inconsistency wasn't the only season-long trend that popped back up during the week, as our Lord and Savior Kari Lehtonen was once against dominant, especially in the 2-1 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. In what very well could have been a 1-0 shutout, if not for another ugly backbreaking turnover, the big Finn put on a show worthy of Eddie Belfour's audience.

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As it happens after most losses this season, Dallas Stars fans reacted with questions and rationalizations trying to determine just went wrong. For most games it's about execution or energy and the frustrations with consistency from game to game grow with each loss. For others it's about injuries and how a full compliment of Stars players, who are healthy, would have fared much better rather than suffer from the latest defeat.

Against the San Jose Sharks, just as we've seen against teams like Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Dallas Stars measured up poorly against a team that is obviously superior in depth and talent. On some nights, the Stars are able to play well against these sorts of teams -- such as the victories against the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins -- but for the most part they have struggled against teams that are heads and shoulders above them in overall talent.

The system brought here by new coach Glen Gulutzan was hopefully supposed to offset the lack of overall talent by creating and building a team game that plays to the players' strengths. For the most part this has happened, as the Stars are competing well against teams that either on the same level or even somewhat above them in talent and payroll. Yet the Stars also have some shortcomings in how their players are used in game and sometimes systemic changes aren't enough to overcome shortcomings of talent.

There's nothing wrong with accepting that the Stars just aren't as good as the San Jose Sharks. I thought that last night the Stars showed decent jump early and were playing well, until a bad break frustrated them and then they found themselves in penalty trouble for most of the game. While there were certainly issues with the performance of the team, it was apparent that the Sharks are just better overall -- and they've proven that over the course of this season.

So, what should the Stars do to fix this? With Tom Gaglardi running the show, fans have expected some sort of change or splash already and with the trade deadline approaching the anticipation is growing for improvement. The exact answer on how this is to be accomplished, however, is complicated.

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As the Dallas Stars get set to take on the San Jose Sharks tonight, much of the talk has been about whether the team can carry over the momentum built after the big 6-2 win last night in Anaheim. As we've seen so far this season, the Stars have had trouble with consistency and aside from a 14-game stretch to start the season, the Stars have struggled to put together any sort of significant winning streak. Or at least a points streak.

This game is also the first of eight games this month against teams currently holding onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference. If we want to include games against opponents actually fighting for or in a playoff spot, that number rises to 11 of the next 15 games are wholly important to the playoff implications of the Dallas Stars. These are teams the Stars are battling directly with and must succeed against, something that hasn't happened the past few years.

While we certainly want the Stars to hold off on those teams below them in the standings, the Stars are also just six points behind San Jose for the division lead. With four games remaining this season against the Sharks, there actually exists a possibility that the Stars could conceivably fight for the division championship. Sounds insane, I know. Let's just worry about the playoffs.

Even for that to happen, let alone the division crown, the Stars will have to find a way to get valuable points against the best in the Western Conference. The Stars have actually done well overall against their own division, while struggled somewhat against the rest of the conference.

I wanted to see just how the Stars have fared against the best in the West this season and I'm guessing the results aren't likely to shock you.

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