"Limit their shots, their scoring chances," Stars captain Jamie Benn said after a 4-2 loss in Calgary Thursday. "They were close to 40 shots again. When we're playing good, it's definitely not that high."
Calgary finished with 37 shots on goal and had 62 shot attempts. Dallas finished with 23 shots on goal and 42 shot attempts. The Stars were outshot badly in Edmonton and closely in Vancouver, but the bottom line is the opposition controlled the puck and kept it in the Stars' zone.
That's a bad way to play hockey.
Two of the Calgary goals bounced off Stars players, and that was frustrating for goalie Jake Oettinger.
"Two goals went off our guys. That seems like it's been the story lately," Oettinger said. "Both times, the guys were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing, and sometimes the puck just bounces like that."
There is some method to the madness, however. Teams that control possession and get pucks to the net often have more success than teams that don't. That's pretty obvious. It's something the Stars coaching staff said it emphasizes every game.
"It's unfortunate, those two goals," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "There's nothing a goalie can do when the shots are hitting somebody and trickling in. We tell our guys all the time, `Puts pucks on net, shots create scrambles.' If you put pucks on net, good things are usually going to happen. I thought we had some good chances to shoot, and we didn't. That drives us crazy. I thought we could've put more shots on the net."
The Stars have clearly been better with details at home, and that's one reason they're 24-10-3 at American Airlines Center and 19-20-2 on the road. They average 31.3 shots on goal per game at home and 29.8 on the road. They averaged 3.19 goals per game and 2.51 on the road.
"We're going home with great fans, and if we have to do it the hard way, we'll do it the hard way," Bowness said. "We get back to a great atmosphere in our rink. We still control our own destiny, we just have to take full advantage of it, and we're going to."
Oettinger had a solid game and looks like he might be over some issues he was battling earlier. The coaching staff juggled the lines and liked what it got from younger forwards. But players like Benn and Tyler Seguin have to be better. Both were held without a point on the three-game trip. Seguin finished minus-7 and Benn minus-6.
"Personally, I need to be a better player out there for this team," Benn said.
But the team also has to find a way to do it together.
"It's a hard lesson to learn, obviously," Oettinger said. "We know the situation we're in. But we're feeling confident we can go home and win those games."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
