The statistical breakdown of the Stars' road game

The Stars' franchise record for road wins is 25 in a season.
They are currently at 22 with four road games to go.
This could be an interesting motivator as they play four of the final eight games away from home.
Dallas sits 22-10-5 on the road heading into Friday's game at Arizona and 18-10-9 at home. It's an interesting dichotomy with several statistical supports.

The Stars rank second in goals against on the road at 2.47 and 16th at home at 2.97. They are second in road power play at 25.9 percent and 17th at home at 20.8 percent. They score more at home (3.49) than on the road (3.32), but rank higher on the road (8th) than at home (10th). Heck, they also have some of the league's more controversial stats in their favor away from home with giveaways more prevalent at home (429-267) and hits much bigger (820-677) on the road.
Now hits and giveaways are subjective and can change quite a bit from arena to arena, but those numbers do seem to dictate a difference in style of play.
Stars forward Jason Robertson pulled a stat out that he feels is significant. Dallas ranks first in the NHL in scoring first on the road with 26 of 37 games. The Stars at home rank 16th with 19 of 37 games.
"I think our first periods on the road are better than our first periods at home," Robertson said. "Our first periods at home are kind of sloppy. We've found ourselves in holes, and we have been able to dig out of holes and get to overtime. I think on the road, we've had the mentality that we're able to play a strong structured game, and everybody embraces being on the road."
The Stars could definitely use that down the stretch, as they play the Coyotes on Friday and the Avalanche on Saturday. The game at Colorado will be huge because the Stars and Avalanche are battling with Minnesota for the top three spots in the Central Division. Minnesota leads with 97 points, while Dallas and Colorado each have 94. The Wild are 16-1-4 in their past 21 games, which is a remarkable number. Dallas is 9-4-1 in the past 15, so it has yielded ground, but the message within the team is to keep pushing forward.
"It's that time of year," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said about dialing up the intensity. "For us, we've just got to take care of business. You have to give Minnesota credit. It's not like we've slumped, our record is still pretty good. They're finding ways to win."
The Stars have struggled in recent weeks, but they played better on Tuesday in a 4-1 win at Chicago. After a home practice on Thursday, the group seems to be in a good place and ready to attack a strong Colorado team. Dallas currently is 11 points ahead of ninth-place Calgary, so a clinched playoff spot seems like a pretty good bet. That said, they could open at home against a wildcard team if they win the division or they could open on the road at Minnesota or Colorado if they finish third.
Both players and coaches are saying it's more important to be playing well when the post-season starts than it is to get the perfect seed.
"For us, we've got to take care of our business, win games, and make sure our game is in a good place," DeBoer said. "Because come playoff time, it doesn't matter who you get, you're getting a really good team."
Arizona is 20-12-4 at home, while Colorado is 20-13-5, so both will be a challenge to even a good road team.
"I don't know," DeBoer said when asked about the difference between home and road. "We were a really good home team earlier in the season. I think the records speak for themselves. I think we're capable of being a real good team both home and on the road and have been at different points this year. For me, that's not our story."
Whatever happens, the final eight games and the push to be ready for the post-season will go more smoothly if the team plays well on the road.
"The thing is that every team is kind of the same," Robertson said of keeping the intensity and worrying about themselves. "If you finish third, you're playing a team that's like a point away from you. Obviously, the home ice is what you want to play for, but we just have to finish off these eight games. It's important to finish the season strong," Robertson said. "We've got some business to take care of."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.