Even with a few losses on the sheet, there's a lot to be thankful for
The Dallas Stars showed resilience, fight, and fortitude during a tough week of division battles
It's a maxim she tells Jane and Michael before they start to clean the nursery, and it basically means once you get started, you're well on your way to finishing. Good advice, eh?
Well, that phrase applies to the Stars this season. They started the year scoring first in 12 of 14 games and they currently lead the NHL with 15 "first goals." That's resulted in a 10-4-1 record when scoring first and the best first period goal differential in the league at plus-15 (27-12). It's also been a huge boost in allowing Pete DeBoer and his coaching staff the ability to manage games and get the situations they want, even during a road-heavy early schedule.
But that has changed this past week or so. Dallas allowed the first goal to Colorado, Winnipeg and Colorado and had to fight back in all three games. The Stars scored first against Chicago but got down 4-1 and had to play from behind for much of the game. Now, this team rallied for a win against the Blackhawks and an overtime loss point against Colorado (once) and Winnipeg, but you could definitely see the wear and tear.
"It's definitely a piece for sure," DeBoer said when asked about the role of allowing the first goal in the team's recent struggles. "It's a lot easier when you're out in front and the analytics show the success rate when you're out in front early. It feels like we've been playing from behind every night lately. We've got to fix that."
Repairing things in the NHL isn't always cut and dry. You can say you have to be better at goal-scoring…or goaltending…or special teams…but once you get out on the ice, things seem to just happen.
As Mary Poppins likes to say: "That's a piecrust promise - easily made, easily broken."
Because athletes and coaches must talk to the media every day, they often attempt explanations for things that might be pretty tough to verbalize.
The Stars on Saturday were magnificently diligent in the second period, driving plays against the Avalanche and earning five power plays. The second-best man advantage team in the NHL, Dallas scored on just one of the five and never was able to really flip the game in an eventual 4-1 loss.
Tyler Seguin summed it up best when he said the team did a lot of good things, it just didn't work out.
That's the way hockey goes a lot of the times.
So, as we scramble through the stat pages offered by the hockey internet and look to a 58-year-old movie for guidance, there is a real urge to just shrug your shoulder and say, "Let's move onto Monday in St. Louis." But there is something to be gained from studying these past few games. Why have opponents been able to score first? Have they come out and dictated play? Colorado has been intense in both of its games against the Stars. Winnipeg seemed to be fired out of a cannon in hopes of helping new coach Rick Bowness in his return to Dallas. Chicago even had a real intensity that hasn't always been there this year for the Blackhawks. So, anecdotally speaking, there is a lesson in preparation, ferocity, and execution. The Stars were doing those things earlier in the season, making it easier to play their game.
"In this league, it's definitely easier to play with the lead. It allows the four lines to get rolling," Stars forward Joe Pavelski said. "We knew we weren't going to lead every game. This group has shown the ability to come back and can kind of flip that at times and just the way we have stuck with it to get that momentum back and earn some points out of those games is good to see."
When the team was scoring first, the lines were rolled out on a regular basis. DeBoer didn't have to match much, and he certainly didn't have to lean too heavily on his best players. Miro Heiskanen was playing about 22 minutes a game earlier in the season. In more recent games, he's at about 27 minutes. Pavelski was around 15 minutes a contest earlier in the season. He's at 18 in more recent games. Not only can that be wearing on the individual, but it affects how everyone is playing. Keeping the lines rolling makes for a happy dressing room, and that positive momentum has a way of rolling forward.
Now, all of that said, players know the world is not a perfect place and there will be challenges along the way. In fact, some even believe playing from behind and being forced to catch up can be an experience that helps them down the line.
"We would like to get up earlier in games and hold the lead, because it feels like that's when we play our best," Seguin said. "But we're showing resilience and it's good to go through these tests early in the season. At the quarter mark, we like what we see, and we'll move on from this one."
They can definitely ask me: "Why do you always complicate things that are really quite simple?"
Or at least aspire to Mary Poppins' self-evaluation and be: "Practically perfect in every way."
But, really, you just have to go back to the original thought here. NHL teams in good shape at Thanksgiving typically finish the season in a good place. With the Stars right in the mix in a year where Colorado and Winnipeg are off to fast starts, you have to feel pretty good about the battle for one of the playoff sports. Right now, the Blues, Wild and Predators don't have that same confidence.
Now, you do have to fix your problems, you do need to show resilience, and you do need to learn from these recent games. But the same advice for a game applies to a season.
Well begun is indeed half done (or, at least in this case, a quarter done).
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.
