Brought to you by: Big Shucks
Sometimes it is not about how you win them. The defense is still having their issues, but the Dallas Stars have rattled off four straight wins.
After a sluggish 1-3 start, the Stars grabbed wins in all three games this week. That included their first road win of the season. A perfect time to get their first road win as the Stars next five games are away from the AAC.
But the Stars still need to improve their play, especially their defensive play late in games.
The Stars had comfortable leads that nearly slipped away late against the Coyotes and Hurricanes. Defensive turnover and defensive positioning that plagued this team last season is still having affect this season. The difference in the win/loss columns from a season ago? The acquisition of Ben Bishop.
Bishop has proven he is one of the elite goaltenders in the league. His goals against average (2.09) is top 5 in the league and ranks top 10 in save percentage. What is not shown in the stats is his ability to remain calm and composure under pressure. When the defense breaks down, Bishop keeps his body under control and gets in position to use that big frame to block the puck.
Weekly Recap
The Stars opened this week with a home-and-away against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. First game was in front of the Dallas crowd at the AAC. It was a night of “first goals of the season” as Radek Faksa, Dan Hamhuis and Alexander Radulov. Even former Star Jason Demers secured his first goal of the season with the Coyotes. Faksa and Hamhis struck first then Demers tried the lead until Radulov capped off the night with an empty-netter, 3-1.
Two nights later the same teams played again in a different venue. Arizona opened the scoring as Derek Stepan netted his first goal of the season. But Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin accounted for three goals, two in which by Seguin came in the third period. The Coyotes notched some troubling third period goals but it was not enough as the Stars secured a 5-4 win (the first road win of the season).
Jamie Benn started the night against Carolina tallying his fourth goal of the season. Seguin would answer his line mate securing his sixth goal of the season. But the night belonged to Tyler Pitlick. The former Oilers 2nd round pick has had a renowned start to the season and finally got rewarded for it on the stats sheet with his first two goals of the season. On the concerning side, the Stars allowed three answered goals late in the game but narrowly held off Carolina winning 4-3.
The Stars open the long road trip against the hot starting Avalanche once again.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
10/24 @ Avalanche 8:00 p.m.
10/26 @ Oilers 8:00 p.m.
10/27 @ Flames 8:00 p.m.
