How Glen Gulutzan Plans to get the Dallas Stars Back on Track: Simplify and Attack!

How Glen Gulutzan Plans to get the Dallas Stars Back on Track: Simplify and Attack!

Dallas Stars head coach Glenn Goldson described Tuesday’s results against the Blue Jackets unacceptable. But how does he go about fixing the funk the Stars are in? Beginning tonight against LA. You’re Locked On Stars, your daily podcast on the Dallas Stars, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Howdy Stars fans. I’m Joey Ericson, former producer 105 through the fan. Please be sure to subscribe. We are freely available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube. And as always, thank you so much for making us a part of your day and making us your first listen. Welcome to a Thursday edition of Locked On Stars, part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every single day. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code lockdown NHL for $20 off your first purchase. The Stars have lost three games in a row. Can Glenn Gooson and the Stars get out of this funk they are in tonight against LA. I have some highlights from Gooson’s presser yesterday to share with you. For maybe any Stars fans out there that are hitting the panic button, listen to Goalie describe how he tries to get the Stars team out of this funk and start moving in a positive direction. We will preview the Los Angeles Kings who the Stars take on tonight as well. And we’re going to have some fun on today’s show. So, buckle up. Should be a jammed pack edition of Locked on Stars. We’ll begin with uh a few clips from Goldson’s presser and how he describes they are going about their business moving forward. and he mentioned the result was unacceptable and you you’ll hear that in this answer, but he talks about how he’s slowly seeing things they’re trying to implement come to fruition in the game. And it it’s not always uh about results because the results will come if they continue to stack games, continue to improve and a multitude of errors uh or areas and at some point the results will come. As much as I hated the score, there were things that we touched on that got into the game. So just from a coach, uh you’re like, you know what? Um, we improved in these areas. I mean, if everybody likes to dive into numbers, the bad number was 5-1. The bad number is two for two on the penalty kill. Uh, they they were two for two on their power play. Um, but our ozone time was double what it has been in the past. And that meant we broke out cleaner. Uh, we got more we got a few more attacks. Our line rushes against were way down. Those are the things that we were trying to get across to our guys. Sometimes when you start to play better, the results lag behind. And sometimes when you’re playing really good, you’re winning games. You have no business winning. Uh it all evens out and catches up to you. So really what I’m saying is it’s not where you are, it’s where you’re headed. Either the good way or the bad way. And results will lag both ways. Um so uh we didn’t get the result, it’s a poor result. Uh it’s it’s uh it’s unacceptable, but at the end of the day, we are uh we’re going to try to keep this thing going and hopefully the results the results will catch up. They always do and they have to quickly of course and we’ll get into uh another clip here shortly where he talks about the uh approach the the mindset how he is uh I guess uh delivering the message in inside the the dressing room because they are still thinking uh about things and I think I mentioned that in yesterday’s episode when we did the game breakdown. At times it looks like the Stars are are thinking and they’re trying to react um as opposed to just pushing and and being more instinctual. He uses that phrase quite a bit uh because maybe they’re thinking about okay I should be here in the defensive zone and that’s still rattling in the back of your head and instead of just being there because instinctually it becomes like muscle memory. uh this is where I go when the puck is here. yada yada yada. They’re still thinking about it. And that second half a second you use to think about it can shut down an opportunity. And the Stars struggle to to make plays. I I thought that was curious to to hear they had double the amount of zone time than they had in some previous games. I would have been shocked honestly to to hear that. um after watching the the game just by pure eye test. But those are the type of I guess analytics, those are type of numbers uh Gooson can look at um and be more positive uh about moving forward for for Dallas. And he also touched on how the offense was maybe not capitalizing or not taking advantage of some things. They they held on to pucks, you know, in the first period especially. They seem to be allergic to shooting. They just they didn’t put enough pucks on Merge Leakans on even some of their their oddman rushes. And in a game where they struggled to create five on five, when you do get a couple looks like you need to funnel pucks on net and create some some havoc. Is that familiar Stars fans? I just think back to the last couple series uh against Edmonton over the last couple of the years where they’re just testing from the outside. They can never get interior and really made life easy on on Skinner. Uh and uh in Edmonton, of course, look, this is, you know, game six of a regular season, but like issues have lingered. We’re we’re seeing repeated mistakes from Dallas. Um, and here is Golitzson talking about the message he’s trying to deliver to try to get them out of this funk. And he used a a word that I I really liked and I think is a a great uh descriptor of the stars right now. The only option is you just keep working your way out of it, right? You simplify and keep working your way out of it. And that that’s that’s what we’re going to do. And I’ll I’ll I’ll stick to the the um uh pretty soon the things that we implemented will become more automatic or instinctual. And uh instinctual hockey is what wins. Um I’ve said this before, we’re a little clunky, but yeah, I’ve I’ve seen uh change and and and starts that weren’t, you know, great that turned into some things that got really good. So that’s you just got to keep working the engines. That’s basically what I told the guys today. You just got to keep working the engines. Keep going over it till it becomes automatic and then you get some fluidity. Clunky is the the word I I really liked because I think it’s very apppropo for what we’ve seen here over the last three games uh and some some change really even in some of their their wins. They they do look a bit clunky. They they were out of sync the other night uh against Columbus. We’re not playing connected and some of that is maybe injuries. Some of that is still understanding how they are trying to play the the systems, right? It’s a giant learning curve, but they have to figure it out quickly, otherwise it can get out of hand. They cannot allow it to spiral, especially early on this season. And one more clip for you, Gooson describing the offense and what he saw the other night. What I did, what I thought they did well last night was they they they kept us to the perimeter. were in there for a long time. We had a hard time penetrating. And uh you know, I think a couple times our puck play got sloppy in the ozone and never got shots. I mean, we had if you look at the first period, we had about three line rushes against that were odd mans for in our favor that we never got a shot on goal. And um so, you know, they defended it well or we we didn’t take a you know, a shot that could cause commotion, right? Uh flip it over to the other side. You saw that backhand thrown on the net that popped into our slot and it caused a bunch of commotion actually. Um Jake had to make a hell of a save after after it. We just didn’t create enough chaos uh with our ozone. We we held pucks but we didn’t get enough to the net. We didn’t create some breakdown chaos for them. Yeah, the Stars were outshot again at five on five. And if you looked at some of the expected goal numbers, the the Stars actually had uh an advantage uh in that category. But again, never really made things chaotic for Merge Leakans. Never tested him um enough in the game outside of really the second period where they were dominating and holding on to pucks. But uh they they have to find ways to get to the net like someone get to the net um and funnel the puck there. It is sort of the same old song and dance that it feels like we we’ve talked about um even going back to to last season um when it involves the the stars struggles. So we’ll see if they can uh fix it quickly. It uh will certainly help when they get some bodies back. We’ll have some updates on Oscar Beck and Matt Duchain here on the other side of this break. Today’s episode of Locked on Stars is brought to you by Rouette. Let’s be real. Making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress. I’m tired. It happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where Reiet comes in. Reg.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. Reiet makes it easy to get started. You just connect with a board-certified doctor, 100% online, so no awkward waiting rooms, no in-person appointments. If prescribed, your treatment will show up secretly to your door. The process is fast, it’s simple, and private, and it’s all handled by doctors. It’s about confidence, connection, getting back into the moments that matter. Visit reia.com/lockton NHL to get 15% off your first order. That’s r u g i e t r r u gi t reia.com/lockedonhl. Use the code locked on so they know that we sent you. Stop making excuses and start making moves. Today’s episode is also brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right, pick a bet, put down five bucks. If it hits, you only have $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. FanDuel is so much fun. It just adds extra excitement to the game. FanDuel gives you so many different ways to play. You can build parlays, player props, even follow the live lines during games. Makes watching football even more exciting when you got a little something riding on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. We have the World Series. We have college football. It’s all starting to heat up. It’s a great time to be a sports fan. It’s a great time to get involved with FanDuel. Have some fun. Squeak a little money on the games this weekend and ride it out until the very end. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fan.com. Download the FanDuel app today and get started. A couple updates on Oscar Beck and Matt Duchain. The Stars are hoping Oscar Beck can play by the end of the week. So, we may get to see him against Carolina over the weekend. He is still dayto-day, but he has been practicing with the team. Matt Duchain is also daytoday. So, still no clarification on whether we will see him play tonight against LA. I would imagine we’re going to see some similar shape uh of a lineup uh similar combinations up front. Um and pairings and pairings have stayed the same. Um with Duchain and Beck out for practice, although they did not uh compete or participate in all the line rushes, um when they were out, it was hence Ranton and Steel. They got put together uh in the middle of Tuesday night’s game. Johnston Bourke um and Robertson, which was the best line. Sean with Blackwell and Ritzcovian and then Ernie Foxa and Bastion was the uh the fourth line for Dallas in practice yesterday. We’ll get a better idea at morning skate whether or not uh Matt Duchain will be able to play uh tonight uh against LA. Really uh uh really tough circumstances right now for for Golson to begin his tenure. And I’ll say this, the Stars are still doing uh positive things. Um but the last couple of games in particular, there just hasn’t been a real life or or spark to their game. And I mentioned this yesterday, the first three games, and the SS didn’t play well in all of them, right? They did not play good against Colorado, but they squeaked out a win. But even in that game, there was still a approach. There was still the message that they were trying to instill in in the team was being shown on the product on the ice. you you could see where Dallas was improving, trying to get better at um physicality, offensively um in the Dzone, you could see it. And the last couple games, it it just isn’t quite there. Um and and by the way, like credit to St. Louis in Columbus. I I think sometimes you just have to tip your cap to opponents. Um they were really good. Um they they were really good. Um, but even then, like the Stars still did good things. I I think when they get settled, we’ll start to see better play. At least that’s what I’m holding out hope for. I think when the Stars are going at their best, like we saw it. I I I I will continue to think about that first 50 minutes against Winnipeg. I think that was the perfect representation of what the Stars want to be, and that is without Jamie Ben. that is without Oscar Beck. Um it it was with Neil Slungquist, of course, but that was a really good version of the Stars and they can be dangerous if they play that way, but they’ve been thrown into a bit of a funk with some injuries. They’re not as balanced as they would like to be. They’re missing Ben big time right now. They’re missing Duchaine, of course, who is a big playmaker for them, right? Those are some key guys that were going to have to be key offensively for for Dallas. They do not have the amount of depth down the lineup as they used to. And we’re hoping to see the breakout from a Maverick Bourc who’s getting better, right? He’s still getting better. I think he needs to play more, continue to get him opportunities with Robo and Johnston. You’re going to see him flourish. They They need guys to step up right now. Steel hasn’t. He’s been okay, but needs to play better at at points, right? One assist in in five games. Uh they they need more from him. they’re going to to need more from a guy like Foxer right now even um from Blackwell. And I know those are just your fourth line bottom six guys, but those are the guys that that have to to step up and help carry some of this load. Uh because there isn’t a Marchman in the wings. There isn’t a Donov that you can almost pencil in for 20 goals. You’re asking someone that maybe hasn’t done it before to chip in more offensively. uh in the offense has been okay here early this season. What they’ve scored what now five goals in the last three games and they scored 15 or whatever it was in the first three. Um but like the offense has been a part of it. Uh not all of it. Uh the defense still needs to be taken care of. Um but there is room for um improvement. Um, but they they are not as well equipped to deal with a multitude of injuries this season. I I think it’s fair to say it’s it’s it’s blunt, but it’s true. Um, the more injuries they have, the harder it is going to be. And they’re they’re going to have these slumps. I think that’s just what you have to kind of accept at this point. There are going to be stretches this season and every team has them whether they’re loaded or not. But I think the Stars specifically, especially if the big boys aren’t going, they are just going to be in massive slumps. And if they play the way they have been over the last week or so, and they don’t create a ton, and they don’t cash in on some of the opportunities they do get, it’s going to be a chore to score goals. and especially you tack on the inability to get out of your own zone at points and you get hemmed in, it’s going to really exacerbate that problem. Um really going to exacerbate the the offensive uh uh problem. Um but man, I mean, they’re they’re looking for for guys to to really step up. Um and Bourke has to be one. Um you know, he’s got a couple points here in six games. That’s all fine and dandy, but that he needs to to play more. He needs to be better. Um I I’ve I’ve said it too. Um you know, Bourke has only played, you know, 13 minutes. 1348 um is his average time on ice. You know, Robo’s playing 1929. Johnston over 20 minutes a game. Bourc needs more time. He He needs to play more. Um I I think he’s he’s shown it. it’s on him to continue to earn that ice time, but he he needs to play more, especially when you have these injuries. This is a a player coming into the season we thought like this is a this is a chance to break out. This is his chance to to maybe elevate in the lineup um and prove to be impactful. Um and I just don’t know if he can do that enough at, you know, 13 14 minutes a game. He needs to play more. Um and uh and and Golden mentioned him yesterday. he thought he skated well or maybe that was a couple of games ago um in the loss. So, let let’s start to see that reflect in some of his his time on ice. Uh we we need uh we need guys like him. Um even Ritz Scofian to some degree like just some juice, some young fresh legs in there. Um the Stars have yet to call anybody up. Maybe that’ll change tomorrow. I’m recording this late on a Wednesday night. um with with Neil Longquist on the IR, there is a potential for the Stars to bring somebody up. Um they’re they’re sort of just trotting out the the minimum roster right now with what they have. So, um we’ll continue to keep an eye out on Texas and and maybe if the Stars go down to to grab somebody um from uh the AHL squad. All righty, let’s uh preview the Los Angeles Kings who are in town tonight. Another later than normal puck drop here in uh in Big D. We’ll uh break down the Kings are off to a very rough start and an opportunity for Dallas to get back in the W column. We’ll do that in just a moment. Today’s episode of Locked on Stars is brought to you by Game Time. Hockey season is officially here and nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games. But let’s be real, getting tickets can be a total headache. between waiting in cues, surprise fees, prices that jump right before checkout. It’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer on your team. That’s where Game Time comes in. The app gives fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NHL tickets fast, easy, and stressfree. Recently, I’ve used Game Time before. You heard me talk about it over the summer, uh, going to different ballparks, going to a Texas Rangers game. You just go into the Game Time app. You got zone deals. You pick the section. Game time picks your seats. You can save big. You can even find NHL tickets for under $25. You can see the view from your seat before you buy it. So, you don’t have to worry about getting a bad view. I did that over the summer a couple times. I went to uh T-Mobile Park uh formerly Safeco in Seattle. Um had never been there before. Of course, I needed to make sure I got seats that weren’t obstructed. Really wasn’t a bad seat in the place, but just in case, I went to game time. I saw it. Bada bing, bada boom. I’m going to use it for plenty of Stars games upcoming this year. So take the guess work out of buying HL tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app credit account. Use the code lockn for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. That’s code l for $20 off. Swipe ticket. Tap and go. Kings versus stars tonight at the American Airlines Center 8:00 puck Trump. It will be on ESPN Plus/Hulu. though I don’t believe it is exclusively on ESPN Plus. I could be wrong. That 8:00 puck drop makes me a bit anxious. Um I think it’s will be on Victory Plus. Maybe not. Uh you know what? Uh it’s just saying ESPN Plus and Hulu. So uh we’re going to have to maybe suffer tonight uh a bit with the uh national broadcast. Although um it it’s good for the stars to be on national broadcast, but I I meant not having Josh and and Razer, of course. So, uh ESPN Plus/Hulu, which makes me think I’m going to have to I I I don’t have ESPN Plus currently. I was probably going to get in anyways, but now I got to add another subscription um to watch tonight. Um always um exciting. That’s what’s great about Victory Plus. You get uh free games. Uh but anyways, the Kings uh they’re two, three, and two so far. uh this season they’re actually coming off uh a win uh against St. Louis um who of course uh just beat the Stars the other night. So they’re coming off a win. Uh Dallas has lost three straight. This is a big one. Of course LA’s a team I I was pretty bullish on coming into uh the year. Um they have a lot of lot of good offensive talent up front. Adrien Kempe right now, nine points in the first seven games. Quinton Biffield, who had a breakout season uh last year. Fiala Kouseno, uh who I I really liked over the summer. I was hoping the Stars maybe be in on a guy like Kousenko. Um they haven’t great they haven’t got great goalending. That’s that’s sort of been their their big problem here early on. Keer um and Forsber, their goalending duo, um well below average right now. um under 900 save percentage. Uh both goals against average for both goalenders is above two and a half. Uh their penalty killer struggled. Stars penalty killer struggle. I said the other night if it’s one thing the Stars will do well be their penalty kill in the first couple months and that got thrown right back into my face after the Blue Jackets went two for two. um they they they have to improve there of course and I think the the penalty kill special teams may improve as the stars improve even at five on five um we have touched on I talked about just being disconnected uh you’re going to get exposed being disconnected especially on that side of special teams the penalty kill um in in particular man the Stars are giving up 3.83 83 goals against here to begin this season. That’s 29th. Uh like that’s just straight up not good enough. Um that’s usually where Dallas has had a great identity. That’s that’s the really puzzling part about all this. Think of the first two two years and let’s say what 80% of last season like uh Stars were just a defensive stalwart for the most part. Like yeah, they they had lapses defensively, but you looked at the goals against like they were comfortably within the top 10, if not even the top five under Dbor, and it has just taken a 180, a complete 180 where they can’t seem to they just they can’t seem to solve this issue. Um, and they can’t seem to to really shut down anybody. It’s not just great teams. It’s not bad. It it’s it’s all different types um of opponents. They just struggle to to keep handle on and more and really it’s it’s managing the game. That’s where the the the stars um just seemed to be way off from where I mean you just think a couple years ago like what was their identity like they’re so strong from the the net on out. Um and you look at the personnel even you’re like personnel seems to be better. Um like you remember we had Mir Hen play with Ryan Sudter a couple years ago. No, no offense to to Sudter, but like that was the Stars top pair. Um, and they were I mean, think about the issues they had then and we were like, I mean, could it get any worse? And it it sort of has, even though we feel like the personnel has maybe improved. Um, some of it is just experience, right? Bishel’s young. Uh, you know, Lungquist, outside of the injury, of course, is young, still getting his feet wet to some degree. Um, still sort of green to the NHL level. Um, and we’re maybe not getting the best versions of Harley and Hasten in here, but but uh, yeah, that just seemed to be a calling card for so many years. Just doesn’t seem like they can revert to that. Um, it it’s it’s just been an issue. Uh, and hopefully it flips back um when they sort of get a a handle on on this. And that’s like the game management side. um right like sometimes they just feel completely not in control. Um and that certainly felt like that against Columbus on on Tuesday where they just were not dictating the game where it feels like Dallas usually could set the pace. Um they were in full control of how the game was being played. They were making opponents play catch or try to play their style. Um and more often than not they couldn’t do it. Whereas now they’re just seem to be holding on for for dear life. uh more like it seems like kind of the early what late 2000s stars right 2019 they’re just asking a lot out of their net miner like they need their net minder to be nearly perfect um to to win games um but again like Los Angeles yeah they’ve struggled out of the gates um not scoring a ton 2.57 goals against uh but like trust me there’s plenty of talent there um and if if it’s anybody that and maybe hurt the the Stars right now. Uh it could be a team uh like like Los Angeles. Um we’ll get to see Cody Cece so the Stars can take advantage of that. Their their decor is nothing to jump up and down about. That that is for sure. Like CeCe is playing um some big He’s playing 17 minutes a night. Uh Cody Cece here. Um and Edmonson is too. That’s been a pair um that has just been torched here. Um their expected uh goals against numbers. You look at Money Puck, they’re sort of in the same category as Dallas right now. Um the expected goal differential numbers, they’re they’re in the negatives. Uh that’s where Dallas can attack. I I have a feeling Dallas is going to be much better at five on five tonight. If if I had to predict, I think they’ll be way better at five on five tonight. Um and and they they’ll have they’ll have good looks. They’ll be able to create offense tonight um more than they have. So, in the last couple of of games is my sort of gut feeling. They can get after a team like Los Angeles, but they have to be really careful off the rush. I think that’s where the Kings will kill you, especially in the transition game. Neutral ice. You can’t allow Los Angeles to get speed, you know, work in unfettered. There has to be some resistance there. Um uh and uh the the Stars hopefully will write the the ship tonight. Um their their power play um isn’t so hot here to be or I should say their penalty kills I mentioned not so hot. Power play has been good. They’re they’re sixth. Um so their power play has been good. Um which is not a huge surprise. You look at the talent they have. I mean you look at Kempe uh he’s what he’s got four of his his nine points um on the power play. Um he’s uh he’s been uh able to to cash in there quite a bit. Um and he’s he’s leading them on that front. So, um, it’ll be, uh, it’ll be a good one tonight. That, that’s for sure. Stars are are going to make things interesting. Um, but hopefully we sort of see some of the the ingredients that we saw in the first, you know, couple of games. Um, uh, from from from Dallas. Um, and, uh, if Duchaine like Duchain’s a big loss. God, it’s a big loss because he can drive the play. Stars need more guys like that. Um, I think Bour can be somebody. I think Bour can be somebody. U,, he’s gonna be my player of the game tonight. Let’s Let’s do it. He’s He’s the player of the game. Maverick Bore. That’s a prediction. Big night from Borky um and his crew. Stars Kings tonight 8 o’clock. Uh can’t wait to to watch that one. We’ll be back tomorrow on a Friday to break it all down to kick you off into your weekend. And as always, thank you so much for making us a part of your day. Please be sure to like, comment, and subscribe to Lockdown Stars, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. Have a great night, Stars fans. We’ll see you tomorrow.

Dallas Stars face crucial test against Kings amid defensive woes. Can they snap their losing streak? Joey Erickson analyzes the Stars’ recent struggles, including a three-game skid and unexpected defensive lapses. He breaks down coach Glenn Goldson’s perspective on team improvement and provides injury updates on Oscar Beck and Matt Duchene. The upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Kings takes center stage, with Erickson examining both teams’ special teams performance and potential game-changers like Adrian Kempe. Tune in for expert insights on how the Stars can exploit the Kings’ weaknesses and rediscover their defensive identity in this pivotal clash at American Airlines Center.

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