In this edition of the hotstove we discuss the Dallas Stars' early season struggles and if we think they can bounce back from their slow start.
Todd Cordell
I think the Dallas Stars are in deep trouble.
The Nashville Predators are really starting to get going and the Calgary Flames are playing well following a slow start. They are in direct competition with the struggling Stars for a Wild Card spot and are seemingly ready to make life very difficult on Dallas.
They are dealing with serious injury problems, John Klingberg hasn't been close to as good as expected, Dan Hamhuis has been healthy scratched a few times and the goaltending is still bad.
I don't think this is a team that will be playing hockey in late April and May.
James Tanner
This is a tricky question.
On one hand, the Stars are only two points behind a weak Flames team with two games in hand.
On the other hand, if the Canucks win against the Leafs tonight, they have the same record. (If you don't know why this would be concerning, take a second and google the Canucks' roster).
There are positives - they haven't won a game in OT, but they lost six, which is pretty fluky. They easily could have won all six games, or half of them without doing anything different.
The Star's Corsi as a team is the 8th worst in hockey. Unlike the Rangers, the Stars don't have Lundqvist to bail them out.
In fact, they have one of the worst defenses and goalie combos in the NHL. They also play their best two players on the same line (which is something people should talk about more, in general).
I predicted the Stars to miss the Playoffs at the start of the season, and I'm sticking with that. I don't think they'll turn it around.
Jan Levine Yes. The goaltending issues likely will be too much for this team to overcome. Plus, until John Klingberg is made right, either by playing him or a coaching change, the offense from the blue line will be sub-optimal. in addition, other than the big boys up front, who's scoring on this team?
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