Dallas Stars Need Depth Scoring If They Hope To Make Playoffs This Year

Only nine teams in the league have a 30+ goal scorer on their roster as of today. Three of them have two on their rosters: Anaheim (Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry), Pittsburgh (Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz) and Dallas (Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn).

That's some lofty company there.

The last time the Stars had two 30+ goal scorers on their roster was back in 2005-2006, right after the lockout wiped an entire season away. The scorers? Jere Lehtinen and Jason Arnott. They've had a couple of 30 goal scorers since then (Brenden Morrow, Loui Eriksson, Michael Ryder) but it's been some time since Dallas has seen such a dynamic duo on the ice together.

The trade that brought Seguin to Dallas has been reviewed repeatedly since he go here, but the thing that doesn't get so much attention is how risky that move was -- what would this team be if Seguin and Benn hadn't meshed so quickly and so well on the ice together? Could they have produced at this level apart from one another with the cast around them?

Thank goodness we don't have to know what may have been. The duo had an instant chemistry from the onset of camp, and it was hard not to get excited to see those two piecing it together. It didn't take that long for the two to become the high scoring threat Stars fans dreamed of in the summer after the acquisition was made.

"I think with Jamie and I, it's about being consistent." Seguin told The Ticket's BaDD radio show yesterday. "Every night we want to give our team the opportunity to win, and a lot of times, being able to score the first goal of the night or something like that."

In that regard, they've been quite successful. The Stars have picked up somewhere around 60% or more of the available points when either Seguin or Benn record a point, and less than 40% of the available points when they are held off the scoresheet.

A lot of that is due to the precipitous drop in goal scoring behind them. Both Anaheim and Pittsburgh have 20+ goal scorers behind their offensive duos. Dallas doesn't boast the same. Erik Cole is the next highest for the Stars with only 16 goals, or half of what Seguin has scored so far this season.

Perhaps that lack of secondary offense is why Dallas finds itself fighting inch by inch to get into the playoffs.

Seguin knows that is going to be key down the stretch. "But to win games, you're going to have to have everyone stepping up at all times, different times. You can't just rely on a couple of guys."

The timing of that depth scoring couldn't be bigger than when the team is on the road, where the Stars are struggling down the stretch. Dallas has a losing record when away from the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center. Phoenix, who they trail for the last spot in the playoffs, is sitting at .500 on the road.

With teams able to get last change and the line matchups they want, it's easier for Benn and Seguin to be kept off the scoresheet, and those points are becoming more and more crucial. Picking up <40% of the points when they are shutdown for the night with six of their last ten on the road isn't going to get this team into the playoffs.

Benn and Seguin have gotten this team where they are. Now, they need someone (or multiple someones) to step up and push them over the top to the part of the hockey season Stars fans are so desperate to see.