By: Sal Pellone
Move over Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban, there's a new championship contender this season in your town. Dallas, a city not known for its hockey, but more for its Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, and bbq food, have a new friend with high hopes this year.
With a total 80 points in the overall standings, the Stars sit in first in the Western Conference and second in the league standings. They started the season red hot at 19-5 through the first two months, but later skidded in the month of January, going 4-8. They've picked up momentum after the All-Star break, going 6-2 since, with major victories against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals. Leading me to the presumption that the Stars are finding their Stanley Cup mojo at the right time.
A main ingredient to the Stars' success is scoring. Its obvious that the more shots you take, the better probability of scoring. And the Stars shoot the puck a lot. The Stars average the most shots on net per game with a solid 32.5 a game. They'll shoot that puck with long-range backhands or tight angles, as long as that thing's on net. This leads to an average 3.25 goals per game, which is a good amount of goals for a hockey game. An average NHL team's goals per game is at 2.63 this season. Last year's Tampa Bay Lightning were a strong indicator that more points equal more wins. They finished with the NHL's leading goals per game at 3.16, leading them to a Stanley Cup runner-up.
What's propelling this scoring frenzy are first line forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. With near identical stats this season, they wreak havoc for opposing defenseman. Benn stands with 64 points, averaging 1.10 goals per game. Seguin is a hair away with 63 points, averaging 1.09 goals per game. Both in the top three for points leaders. John Klingberg is another name to keep an eye on. The second year defenseman is having an astonishing year with 38 assists, third among all defenseman.
Veteran leadership is the x-factor though when it comes to the playoffs and making a deep Stanley Cup run. In the past two seasons the Stars added veterans Patrick Sharp, who has three Stanley Cups, Jason Spezza, the long-time Ottawa Senators scorer, and two-time Stanley Cup defenseman Johnny Oduya. Veterans are so beneficial come playoff hockey...any sport really.
The Stars like to run-n-gun the puck, which can be faulty at times. It leads to fast breaks, defensive miscues, and shorthanded goals galore. The Stars have given up 9 total shorthanded goals, second in the league. Lets not totally discredit the offensive style though; much weight falls on the netminder, and the Stars lack the ideal playoff goalie(s). The Stars roll with a platoon system in net. Recent addition Antti Niemi gets the majority of starts (57% to be exact) splitting with Kari Lehtonen. A two-goalie system can have its pros and cons. Pros being that you have two good goaltenders to rely on in case one struggles. Cons being that it's a tough coaching decision to see who starts if both are hot, and it leaves a short leash for mistakes.
All in all, I solely believe a high-octane offense that fires on all cylinders is a big advantage come playoff hockey time in April and can make up for below-average goalie play. As long as this offense continues to keep scoring, the Stars could be shaping up for their first Stanley Cup run in over a decade. Saddle up Dallas.
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