Star Crossed Season

DEAD LAST. That’s where the Dallas Stars currently sit on the RHL Power Rankings. Everyone knows those rankings are indisputable-they’re powered by the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet, after all.

With the Stars stuck a 1-6-3 rut, we know the computer is doing its job. General Manager CJO is trying to do his job, but even he’s bamboozled by this run. He added C Joe Pavelski as an early Christmas present, and his addition put the Dallas offense on a heater. But shoddy goaltending has sunk the team in these last ten games.

Goalies Are Voodoo

Stars goalies Robin Lehner and Chris Driedger are surrendering 4.1 goals per game over this stretch, after allowing just 2.26 goals per game to begin the year. Lehner has cooled off after a hot start, and coach Gerard Gallant has confirmed the team will give Driedger a starter’s load. Whether the team lets Lehner recharge or decides to shuffle the goaltending room remains to be seen, but the Stars need help on defense.

Insult to Injury

The Stars defensive woes reached a fever pitch on Thursday night after two early injuries. D Calvin de Haan suffered a lower body injury on the game’s first shift and is week-to-week. Then, D Philippe Myers left the game with a hurt shoulder at the start of the second period. This forced Dallas to play nearly 45 minutes with four defensemen. Somehow, the Stars managed to force a full overtime until finally losing 3-2 to the Houston Coyotes in a shootout heartbreaker.

de Haan was just promoted to the top pair, replacing D Alex Edler so he could form a Swedish Shutdown pair with Anton Stralman. Now, Ryan Murray gets a turn alongside Jared Spurgeon on the top pair. It’s a bold strategy cotton, let’s see if it pays off for them.

D Henri Jokiharju will make his season debut to replace CDH, surprising some Stars fans who expected Robert Bortuzzo to return. Dallas wants an extended look at Jokiharju, who also has better endurance and can eat some minutes. Spurgeon, Edler, Stralman, and Murray all ate between 27 and 32 minutes of ice time in Thursday’s game. Joki's partner will be Myers, who should return for Saturday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild.

New Captain

Perhaps burying the lead here, but the Stars announced that Joe Pavelski will assume captainship of the team beginning immediately. Jared Spurgeon, serving as interim captain while Nikita Kucherov is out for the year, rescinded the role due to both the team’s lack of success and personal reasons. He’ll stay on as one of the alternates alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has played in Dallas almost his entire career.

Pavelski said he’s ready to lead this team to any heights it can reach, but it starts with winning hockey games. Currently the Stars sit a point out of a playoff spot and need to string together a good run. Their rivals have called up high end prospects and their vets will hit a second gear. Pavelski says Dallas needs to come together as a team and play to the level they’re capable of. As long as we’re in, we have a shot.

Midseason Re-Think

Reports out of Texas say that F Kirill Kaprizov, William Nylander, and Jesper Bratt are ready to come out firing. They’ve looked like entirely different players coming out of the All Star break, and now management is waiting to see the results show in games. As a result, Dallas has changed up their top nine:

Kaprizov – RNH – Nylander

DeBrincat – Pavelski – Eichel

Bratt – Shore – Coleman

Coach Gallant said he considered reuniting Alex DeBrincat, RNH, and Nylander- the top line that saw so much success early in the year. But ultimately, he thinks Kaprizov deserves a look on the top line. It opens up what fans are calling the American Air Line (an ode to their home arena): DeBrincat, Pavelski, and Jack Eichel. Everything’s bigger in Texas, especially patriotism and sports!

Hopefully this American crusade can rescue the Dallas Stars season from the evil Power Rankings formula. Otherwise, Stars Owner CJO might have to fire General Manager CJO and his puppet coach Gerard "definitely not CJO" Gallant.