Viewed strictly on its own merits, the Dallas Stars' 4-2 home loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night is a speed bump in a stretch of generally strong hockey for the Stars.
Columbus, which is 12-2-1 over its last 15 games and has won four of its last five matches has been one of the NHL's hottest teams in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the Stars can still hold their heads up high with an 8-2-1 record over the last 11 games.
Even so, there were a few familiar issues for the Stars -- things that contributed to the club's struggles over the first two-plus months of the season - that reared their ugly heads in the loss to Columbus. These are things the Stars need to nip in the bud before they carry over into upcoming games:
1) The Stars dug an early hole for themselves: The Stars found themselves trailing 3-0 by the early stages of the second period. That is an extremely tough way to win in the NHL. Dallas showed resiliency in fighting back to within one goal on tallies by Ales Hemsky and Antoine Roussel -- but could not find an equalizer.
2) The Stars' previous game -- a 5-4 overtime loss against Chicago was a well-played and exciting game against an NHL powerhouse -- but the downside of that game was that Dallas yielded five goals after being unable to protect or build upon four separate one-goal leads. Now, after yielding four goals to Columbus -- the Stars have given up nine goals in the last two games. Dallas has worked hard in recent weeks to lower its team goals against average by 0.25 goals per game (with corresponding rewards in the win-loss column).
3) Backup goaltending continues to be a trouble spot for the Stars. Anders Lindbà¤ck was average in stopping 16 of 20 shots against Columbus. The Stars do not want to be in a situation where they have to overplay Kari Lehtonen week after week due to lack of a reliable alternative to give the club a chance to win. The loss to the Blue Jackets was not specific to the goaltending but Lindbà¤ck also was not part of the solution.
4) The Stars went 0-for-5 on the power play and Columbus went 1-for-5 on their own power plays. Dallas really could have used goals on a pair of second-period power plays and one early third period man advantage. Give some credit to Sergei Bobrovsky (24 saves) as well as the Columbus PK.
The Stars face a tough test on Thursday when the club is on the road to play the Central Division leading Nashville Predators. Peter Laviolette's team enjoys a 15-2-1 home record this season. Lindy Ruff's Stars are a respectable 9-7-1 on the road.