The Dallas Stars opened the 2024-25 season with four straight wins, but a difficult stretch of games and multiple poor performances have left them just 8-5 on the season.
The Stars opened the season looking like one of the best teams in the NHL, but a recent stretch of losses, including three losses in their last four games, has the Stars at seventh in the Western Conference and 12 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for first place.
Dallas lost two straight games against the Florida Panthers when the teams matched up in Finland for the 2024 NHL Global Series. The Stars traveled back home to collect a win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Stars then hit the road to take on the Jets in a game many believed would tell a lot about each team.
These beliefs were correct, as Winnipeg dominated the first two periods of the game to take a 4-0 lead going into the final period. One late goal by Roope Hintz helped Dallas avoid the shutout in a 4-1 loss.
After the game, Stars forward Wyatt Johnston said the team was excited about the matchup and embracing the “big challenge coming up against the team leading the league.”
“It was a big game for us, and we obviously didn’t come out and play the way we wanted to. But you can definitely learn from experiences like this and just take things from it,” he said, per NHL.com.
Stars Coach Pete DeBoer offered a different opinion, claiming that the Jets “exposed” Dallas and adding that the team will have to “be a lot better” to compete in these games throughout the rest of the season, per NHL.com.
The good news for the Stars is that there are still 69 games remaining in the season, leaving the team a lot of room to climb back up the standings with a stretch of solid games.
One more win could vault the Stars back ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames for fifth place in the Conference.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Golden Knights lead the Stars for fourth place in the Conference by just four points, meaning Dallas could see themselves back in the upper portion of the playoff picture with consecutive wins.
Although the Stars have struggled through their last four games, the team will have a chance to get back in the win column with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 6 p.m.