Stars are in a good place, but a daunting road trip awaits

I've always been surprised that the Stars' franchise record for consecutive wins is only seven games.
I mean, they've been around for 50-plus years and have gone through some pretty good seasons. The NHL record is 17 games for Pittsburgh in 1992-93. The next best goes to Columbus at 16 in 2017-18. Heck, Vegas has eight straight and they started in 2017.

Dallas is tied with Atlanta/Winnipeg for the shortest winning streak, but if it's any consolation, the Stars have done it six times to just one for the Jets (the Thrashers record was six). So, they've got that going for them, which is nice.
The recent stretch for consecutive wins shows just how fragile a streak can be and illuminates just how well they're playing right now. On Monday, Dallas had illness rip through the dressing room and take a lot of energy away. It was clear that even with three days between games that Dallas was laboring.
The pace of the game was slow, and the Stars seemed to be skating in cough syrup. The top line got their first-period goal, although just 13:46 into the game, breaking a run of scoring under two minutes for four consecutive outings. Jason Robertson made a fantastic pass to Roope Hintz in the slot for his 11th goal of the season, and the Stars had the first goal again.
The Stars have scored first in nine of the past 10 games, and they've won all nine. That's important, especially when you consider how poorly they were starting games at the beginning of the season. The Stars allowed the first goal in about half of their games and were 1-4-1 when allowing the opponent to score first.
They fixed that during this run and have been rewarded with wins and points in the standings. NHL teams that score first win at a pace of 68.9 percent, so this definitely helps the streak.
That's obviously not always easy, but the Stars are doing the little things to make that happen. Hintz' goal was right in front, so was Jacob Peterson's later in the game. Jamie Benn's two tallies were from point blank. That's a good strategy for a team that's struggled to score at times.
"We talked about that," Peterson said of going to the net. "It can be difficult when there are a lot of people on net. You've got to find the space there. It can be good."
The lessons are simple, really, in theory. They're not so simple in execution. To get to the net requires drive, effort and intelligence. To start fast requires persistence. It's a combination of things, and as John Klingberg says, there's another team on the ice, too, and they're trying very hard.
So, yeah, stringing together three good periods is tough enough, let alone seven good games. That's one of the reasons streaks are so special. And in the immortal words of Crash to Annie in Bull Durham, "You should know that."
The Stars have found a fantastic top line in Hintz, Robertson and Joe Pavelski. They knew they had that, but it just took some time to come together this year.
They've sorted out the goaltending and are back to having one of the tidiest nets in the league (although that might be tougher to keep organized going forward).
And in the past two games, they seem to have found a really nice second line in Benn with Peterson and Alexander Radulov. That could be huge for this team as it heads out on a three-game road trip through Vegas, LA and San Jose. The other team gets to match on the road, so the chances of shutting down a one-line team increases.
If Benn and his linemates are getting the second-best D-pair, they could be the group that swings a game the Stars' way.
After all, we've seen during this streak that a play one way or the other can make a huge difference.
Of course, the mental fortitude to fight through a play or two also can be the deciding factor. Peterson kicked in what appeared to be the go-ahead goal in the third period, and that could've been a frustrating moment for a team that was working hard and in a hard game.
The Stars were battling illness, were battling what had to be a pretty strong inclination to maybe coast a bit, but they didn't. Instead, the non-goal seemed to inspire them, and they played their best hockey for the next 10 minutes or so.
That's a sign of a team that's much different than it was earlier in the year. That's a sign of a team that has some confidence and belief.
"With the number of guys that are in there coughing and hacking, they sucked it up big time in the third period when we went to work," coach Rick Bowness said. "We got our forecheck, we got the energy back up and the intensity back up. We went out and played our game. We weren't playing at the level we needed to play at for forty minutes. They were playing really well and we weren't doing enough to overcome it, but we did in the third."
The fact the Stars can draw on that power is a great sign. The word we heard so much during the early season slump was "inconsistency." You just had no idea from period to period what team you were going to get. Now, you know.
During this seven-game winning streak, the Stars have outscored the opposition, 25-9. They've earned this. Their previous seven-game winning streak came in 2019-20 and was part of a 14-1-1 run. They earned that. Sure, it would be nice if they pushed to eight or nine or 10 games, but it's not completely necessary.
Strangely enough, two of the teams with short franchise records for winning streaks are Edmonton and Detroit at nine games apiece. Each has been a part of a dynasty. The Red Wings won 62 games in 1995-96. Sometimes, the optics don't match the story.
The Stars are in a good place. They need to go prove they can continue this style of play on the road, and then they can let the results fall where they may.
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.