Preview: The Colorado Avalanche Are Good So Far, And The Dallas Stars Are Not Winning (Yet)

It isn’t the start Dallas Stars fans expected this season.

A 1-3 start on a stretch of the schedule that was supposed to be favorable after all of the changes to the roster in the offseason wasn’t what most would have put money on. The expectations were very high (maybe too high?) for a team adjusting to new coaches, a new system, and finding chemistry among new players.

So the stumble isn’t exactly unsurprising if you take a step back and really think about it.

There are good underlying numbers that show the Stars will find success as the season rolls along. They won’t shoot at a sub-five percent level forever. The shot attempts, scoring chances, and high danger shooting are all very good for the Stars (small sample size caveat and all that, of course) so they’re going to be ok.

Of course, they haven’t been very good against the Colorado Avalanche the last few years, even as the Avalanche struggled against everyone else. So many fans are not expecting this game to be the cure that ails the offense for Dallas.

It doesn’t help when you see the Avalanche sitting at 4-1 to start the season. Or when Semyon Varlamov rocking a .945 save percentage. They are coming off of a game last night in which they beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1.

Ken Hitchcock called his team out for making the opposing goaltenders look like the best player on the ice after their loss to the Nashville Predators Tuesday night. If Varlamov plays tonight, they’re going to have an uphill battle to change that narrative.

However, maybe this is just what the Stars need. If they hope to change their narrative, beating a goaltender that has had a string of good games to start the season is a good place to start.