In an atypical situation, the Dallas Stars head to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, seeking to rebound not from a loss but from a victory.
Despite remaining undefeated in regulation over four games, Dallas secured a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. However, the Stars are eager to rectify certain concerning aspects of their game, which they hope won’t become recurring issues.
In their matchup against the Flyers, Dallas squandered 2-0 and 4-2 leads with less than 10 minutes left in regulation before forward Joe Pavelski sealed the win in overtime. Philadelphia’s three short-handed goals, coupled with Dallas going 0-for-3 on the power play, were pivotal to the Flyers’ comebacks and a source of frustration for the Stars. Pavelski labeled it as “unacceptable,” and Dallas coach Pete DeBoer criticized his team’s puck management as “horrendous.” Stars’ captain Jamie Benn pointed out glaring turnovers, saying, “While the points matter, we recognize that we have a lot of work ahead of us and many areas to improve.”
One silver lining from the unconvincing win is that the Stars have excelled in overtime, having gone beyond regulation in three out of four games and boasting a 2-1 record in those situations. In the 2022-23 season, they struggled with an 8-14 overtime record. DeBoer attributed this improvement to utilizing their personnel differently and the team’s awareness of how overtime losses impacted their previous season’s standings.
The Stars’ penalty kill remains flawless, having thwarted the Flyers’ only power play, making it 14 out of 14 successful kills. This statistic may be crucial in their upcoming matchup against Pittsburgh, a team that, despite its offensive prowess, has struggled on the power play, converting only two goals out of 13 opportunities (15.4 percent). The Penguins, however, face concerns of their own after accumulating just four points in their first five games, including a recent 4-2 loss to St. Louis.
Like Dallas, Pittsburgh is openly critical of their performance from Saturday, but in their case, it was a loss. The Penguins experienced their second consecutive defeat, marked by numerous odd-man breaks against, a 0-for-2 power play performance, and a general lack of urgency. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan offered a stern assessment, an unusual move for this early stage of the season, stating, “We didn’t play hard enough, and we didn’t play smart enough. We got what we deserved.”
The Penguins, despite maintaining their core players, underwent significant offseason changes under the new general manager, Kyle Dubas. These alterations included the addition of superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson and an overhaul of the team’s bottom six forwards. The early results have been less than satisfactory.
Dallas is poised to be Pittsburgh’s first opponent that made the playoffs in the previous season, finishing just one point shy of the Central Division’s top spot with over 100 points. Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby, a long-standing core player, was candid about the areas that need improvement to rectify their shaky start, emphasizing that they need to make progress in “virtually every aspect.””
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