The Dallas Stars are in deep trouble as the final game of 2011 calendar year looms on the horizon on New Year's Eve. Last night's 4-1 loss at the American Airlines Center to the Columbus Blue Jackets was disturbing on many levels.
I am not too concerned by the fact that Kari Lehtonen did not look all that sharp in his return to the lineup after a 12-game absence due to a groin pull. That was to be expected to some degree. Lehtonen let in a pair of goals that were probably stoppable, but that's going to happen to every goalie from time to time, especially when he hasn't played for several weeks.
What worries me greatly, apart from the fact that the Stars lost to the worst team in the NHL (which dragged a six-game losing streak into town), is that:
* The Stars are NOT nearly as deep as the top contenders in the West and need their starting lineup to be relatively in tact to hold up for the long haul. The defense and special teams have been a shambles without Stephane Robidas and Sheldon Souray, and it doesn't look like either member of the top pairing is going to return imminently. Meanwhile, team captain Brendan Morrow rejoined the injured list night when he got hurt blocking a shot. That's too much tough minutes for Glen Gulutzan to juggle.
* Dallas' offense just hasn't been clicking with any consistency at five-on-five (much less on the power play) for most of the last seven weeks. Except for an isolated game here and there, the Stars aren't getting the multi-goal production they need from their top six forwards and defenseman Alex Goligoski. How many nights in November and December has the third line been the only one to light the lamp when a goal is desperately needed? Far too many.
* Quite frankly, with the Stars being so banged up and struggling so badly on both ends of special teams of late, the New Year's Eve game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins currently looks like a mismatch. It is going to take a whole of position players elevating their games and Lehtonen having a stellar game in goal to overcome the team with the best goal differential (by far) and third-best record in the NHL.
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