First Shift 🏒
The act of scoring goals is part art, part science and part grit.
For the Stars, getting those parts to line up this season has been a challenge. Dallas last season was third in the NHL in scoring at 3.59 goals per game and had a franchise record eight 20-goal-scorers. This season, they are 11th at 3.15 goals per game and have four players on pace to hit 20 goals.
Yet, 33 games into the season, they still are 20-13-0 and have a .606 points percentage, about the same place they were at this time last year.
“A lot of our game is in a good place, but it doesn’t always result in wins,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Our scoring isn’t where I would like it, but the underlying numbers say we’ll get it there. Sometimes you have to be patient. It hasn’t been a perfect first half, but the first half is not the important part of the season.”
In fact, a lot of the Stars’ best play last season was in the second half, including going 14-4-0 down the stretch to win the Central Division. A big part of that roll was caused by the acquisition of defenseman Chris Tanev at the trade deadline. A similar move is possible this year, as the team should have the cap space to be in the middle of big-name trade talks. What’s more, this still is a team in transition and rookies such as Mavrik Bourque, Logan Stankoven, Lian Bichsel and Oskar Bäck will continue to get better.
Stankoven right now is in a 16-game goal drought, and that’s been frustrating for a player who was the AHL leader in scoring when he was called up to the NHL last season. But the 21-year-old has the right attitude.
Asked recently about how a player can improve his scoring, Stankoven said, “Good screens, try to get in the goalie’s eyes. If he can’t see it, he can’t save it. Going to the net for rebounds, maybe shooting for sticks, you have to try everything.”
Stankoven hasn’t been alone in his struggles, and that can actually be comforting. Wyatt Johnston has six goals this season, he had 32 last year. Jason Robertson had back-to-back seasons of 40 or more goals. He has seven right now. There is room for improvement and the players are working both individually and together.
“I think process is a big thing,” said Duchene, who leads the team in scoring. “If our process is good over the course of 82 games, our results are going to follow. It’s a tough league. The hardest thing to do in this league is score and do it consistently, so we’ll keep chipping away.”
Veteran Colin Blackwell scored a pretty goal Monday in a 3-2 win at Utah and described what he saw on the play. A puck was turned over in the neutral zone by linemates Steel and Bäck, and the right-handed Blackwell came down the right side of the slot. He waited on a potential pass and then snapped a shot over left-handed goalie Karel Vejmelka.
“I looked to pass at first, but then the play keeps going and I saw that their goalie was a southpaw and the blocker side had some space,” Blackwell said. “I tried to have a little bit of a shooter’s mentality and it was kind of lucky it went in.”
Luck had little to do with it. It was achieved with poise, skill and confidence. The Stars could learn a little bit from that. Their two other goals were off of great passes from Bourque and Johnston, and that was a good sign as they head into a big divisional game with Minnesota on Friday.
“It feels good when you connect,” said Hintz, who scored off the Bourque pass. “You get a couple of passes and then get the goal, and it feels good.”
The hope is that some positive mojo can spread. And even if the flood gates don’t open, at least the team can find a way to score big goals at important moments.
“I think perspective is important,” DeBoer said. “You’ve got to find a way to win games.”
