What is perhaps most amazing about hockey and what makes us love this sport so much is how important nearly every single decision and outcome on the ice may be. While, for some, it seems like the game is mostly players passing the puck around and fighting for the puck along the boards, in reality it is those battles that truly define the game.

The ability of a team to excel at the small stuff; to win those battles, to cleanly complete their passes, to cash in on the rare prime scoring chance they receive -- that is what separates the top teams in the NHL from those at the bottom.

Against the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, the Stars were unable to win those small battles -- something that's happened at times this season, and something that is almost excusable considering the unfortunate travel situation the team was forced to go through before the game. Yet in an 82 game season, learning how to consistently be the team that excels at those details is what will ultimately mean making the postseason and going home early. It doesn't matter how talented your team might be, if the details are slipping by you're just not going to win. Ask the Washington Capitals about that one.

"It's small details, it's little things that make a big difference in the game," said Eric Nystrom, when asked specifically about the problems of the penalty kill. "It's an inch. You put your stick in one lane and it should be in the other, and that's where they get the puck moving from side to side. It's little things like that. Sometimes you are rock solid and kill 25 in a row, and then sometimes you feel like you can't stop it from going into the net. That's why it's a long season. But that's why we got to have a little more desperation."

The Stars certainly didn't have that desperation on Monday night and while they weren't grossly outplayed by the Blues -- in fact, I'd contend the game was closer than some are giving the Stars credit for -- the Stars weren't able to compete in the trenches well enough and unfortunately didn't receive the goaltending they needed to keep their heads above water.

With the Stars looking ahead to the likely return of Kari Lehtonen on Thursday night, there's a increasing feeling that it can't come soon enough...

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On Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks, the Dallas Stars showcased why this team is starting to separate itself from others in the division and the conference -- including those teams with more talent, higher payrolls and bigger profiles.

With the Ducks afterwards extolling their struggles to play a complete game yet again, the Stars once more were talking about how complete, 60-minute efforts are what truly defines this team and how no matter what the score may be headed into the third period, they're going to give that final 20 minutes everything they have. It's what has propelled them to a 9-3-1 record when tied heading into the third, and it's also what has lead to their NHL-best record in one-goal games.

The important thing about this Ducks game was that the Stars were able to recover from yet another lackluster performance following a lengthy road trip. The last time the Stars returned from the road they fell apart in a 0-6 loss to Florida; against the Ducks, the Stars surrendered a three-goal lead before turning on the afterburners in the third period.

"People talk about that hangover that first game back from the road," Michael Ryder, scored the game-winning goal, said after the game. "We were a little slow out of the gates but we stuck with it, we got the lead. During the game momentum changes back and forth, they managed to tie the game, but we stuck with it. I think we had a great third period and came up with two points, which is huge."

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We are now over a third of the way into the season and we're still trying to figure out just who the 2011-12 Dallas Stars really are. What is this team's potential? Do they have the ability to overcome one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL and compete for a playoff spot in the ultra-talented West?

Through the first 15 games of the season we felt the answer was unabashedly "yes" but as the season has progressed and injuries have revealed just how precarious this team really is, a postseason berth is obviously far from a certainty.

Against San Jose, it was apparent that this was a hockey team fighting for balance and chemistry -- something that Glen Gulutzan was hired to help create. While he's certainly done some great things the Stars continue to struggle in similar ways from game to game and when things break down like they did against San Jose they are unable to overcome them against superior teams.

When the goaltending continues to have a severely negative impact on the game as well, it becomes too much for an under-talented team to work through. The Stars showed a lot of fight against the Sharks before the life was sucked from them once more, and therein lies the new debate among Stars fans.

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There are many things to be thankful for this month with the Dallas Stars. Thankful a five-game losing streak came in November and not March. Thankful that an incredibly hot start gave this team a cushion to deal with some early-season struggles offensively. Thankful that when the injury bug has hurt this team it's come with plenty of season left with which to get fully healthy again.

During last night's loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, the Stars suffered three more significant injuries as Trevor Daley, Vernon Fiddler and Kari Lehtonen all left the game.

Fiddler is being listed as "day-to-day" right now with a groin injury and coach Glen Gulutzan said that Lehtonen had a "bit of a groin pull and will be further evaluated on Sunday. Daley apparently injured his back, and his status is not known as of this morning.

This means that for at least the game on Monday and perhaps a few games longer, the Stars could be without six significant pieces of a team already struggling to compete with the talent level of the Western Conference.

Obviously the big news is the injury to Lehtonen, who has been the backbone of this team this season and helped propel them to their 13 wins. While it doesn't appear to be an injury that will keep Lehtonen out for long, there's a good chance that backup Andrew Raycroft could be started a number of games over the next week or so.

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There was a point last season, when the Dallas Stars were leading the Pacific Division towards the end of January, that the monumental collapse that would follow could have been avoided. The Stars had already fallen apart on a Western Canadian road trip that included to brutal losses to Vancouver wrapped around a win in Edmonton. The sky wasn't falling just yet but you could see signs of the coming doom showing in their game.

That chance was when the Stars traveled to Boston, an admittedly tough task just days after returning from Canada. Instead of buckling down and showing the heart we knew they had, the Stars fell to pieces and allowed four goals in perhaps the worst first period I've ever witnessed from a Dallas Stars team. That game was the catalyst for the epic collapse that would see the Stars fall from the division lead to missing the postseason by just one win.

The good news is that this loss to Florida is not on the same level as the one last season in Boston. While it was humiliating and painful, it's still early in the season and this was just one loss coming off a bad weekend. At least, that is exactly how the game should be treated by fans -- the team, on the other hand, needs to learn from the past three games, and fast. 

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This is one of those mornings where it feels good to be a Dallas Stars fan.

Ever since this season began, we've approached each win by these Dallas Stars with caution. We don't want to get too far ahead and declare this team ready for the Stanley Cup just yet but it's also impossible not to get excited when the team is putting up win after win. For each victory, however, there were whispers of pessimism saying they've had an easy schedule and this house of cards could tumble at any moment.

Yet with a brutal stretch of games ahead, we approached this week as a litmus test as to whether this was a "real" team or not, whether these Dallas Stars should truly deserve the respect all the fans have been crying about all season long. After a big win against the Washington Capitals -- not just a win but a dominant win -- the Stars are suddenly getting all the respect and the accolades in the world.

"This was against an elite team and I am sure there were a lot of people watching to see how we did against a great team like Washington," said Kari Lehtonen. "It was nice to get a good victory."

After that win, the Dallas Stars were suddenly the talk of the NHL. On Versus, on the NHL Network, even on ESPN -- the Dallas Stars were being talked about as the best team in the NHL right and after weeks of cautious optimism every pundit around the nation was singing their praises about your Dallas Stars. 

We've seen this before, however. We know how narrow the precipice of success can be. The good news is that these players remember that as well.

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Heading into last night's season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks -- a team many are expecting to contend for the Stanley Cup this season -- the biggest storyline revolved around new coach Glen Gulutzan and his NHL debut. The newest leader of the Dallas Stars from behind the bench had never even played an NHL game as a player, and his parents and family were in town last night for the occasion.

What Stars fans saw was a team that came into the game prepared and ready to play. For too long the Dallas Stars have fallen behind early in games due to slow starts or bad goaltending, but it's obvious that with Gulutzan the Stars will be a team that wants to dictate the pace of a game early. After a bit of a stumble in the second period the Stars recovered well and thanks to some stellar goaltending, Gulutzan was able to head home 1-0-0 as a coach in the NHL.

"It's a relief. Now I know I can win one," said Gulutzan after the game.

"I thought the guys played really good. I thought there's room for improvement for us, for sure, a few little things that we want to do better."

More from Gulutzan and the Stars, as well as further thoughts on the win after the jump...

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There are times throughout the course of history that a sports team will transcend from a good team, to one hell of a great team that you love to cheer for. For the Dallas Stars and their fans, the past two years have been filled with disappointment, anger, regret, frustration and sadness at seeing some long-time greats depart. Over the course of this past summer, the leaders of the organization vowed that things would change -- that the Stars would once again become a great team that strikes fear in the hearts of its opponents and one that would threaten to take home the ultimate symbol of glory that exist in all of sports.

We didn't see it at the time, but now? We believe.

For on the ice there exists a team of warriors, of men that fight through adversity the likes of which have never been seen before in hockey. Their nightly battles against their foes bring us joy and triumph as the Stars continue their season-long crusade towards the seemingly unattainable goal that lies ahead. Yet we sit there on our couches or sofas, we drink our beer and our sodas and eat our nachos while cheering for the team we love, all the while naive to the true battles these men face night after night.

Such as somehow and some way finding the courage and strength to score a goal, despite a small cut on the thumb of a hand.

Or being able to get multiple points a night while fighting through the extreme pain and discomfort of a split lip. That bled.

Some players, such as James Neal, fights through so much pain that the team won't disclose exactly what ails him on any given night.

For those that exhibit the ultimate form of bravery, heart, fearlessness and physical and mental fortitude no matter what hurdles must be overcome, the Dallas Stars bestow upon them the honor of the Nerf Warrior Sword. The bearer of this sword proudly displays the symbol of his triumph until the next game, when other candidates are named before the next contest.

Legend says that Adam Burish discovered the store in a mysterious shop in a dusty town when the team was traveling, knowing right away that no price ($9.99) could stand between him and the sword he knew would symbolize the strength of this hockey team more than any other. James Neal, Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson and Kari Lehtonen have all had their crests emblazoned on the steel of this magnificent sword.

As the Stars trudge on, weary feet plodding one at a time towards the final quest that lies before them, there stands a leader that guides them. The One who wears the Sword -- displaying for all to see just how resilient, tough and unflappable this once-again great team truly is -- leads them on.

Watch the TSN video on the legendary Nerf Warrior Sword here.