The Stars couldn’t have asked for much more heading into the Olympic break.
After losing 10 of 13 following their last break for the holidays, the Stars won their final six before entering the season’s longest break, where most of the Stars won’t play in another hockey game until Feb. 25.
As some head for vacation and others head for the opening ceremonies in Milan, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan can take some comfort knowing his team has resolved many of its long-lingering problems from December and January. It’s exactly what a coach wants heading into a long period away.
But it’s also exactly when you don’t want a break to arrive.
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“It’s nice because it buys you some peace on the break,” Gulutzan said. “You’ve got two weeks of peace, and that’s not very often in the league.
“But I do know that with these streaks, that much of a break, you’ve got to try to start them back up again. It’s almost like they end because it’s all new when you come back.”
Dallas’ offensive struggles that dragged on for a month have subsided, with the Stars scoring three or more goals in their last six games. Many of their players who couldn’t find a rhythm for extended stretches like Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn and Thomas Harley have hit their stride.
Harley scored the overtime game-winner against Winnipeg earlier this week. Duchene and Benn are on six- and four-game point streaks, respectively. Benn scored twice in Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the Blues, including the game-winner with 22 seconds remaining. Duchene added a point and an assist.
“I kind of hate the timing of this, to be honest,” Duchene said. “I’m feeling good as an individual, and then, as a team, we’re rolling. But I think that hunger will continue to fester in the break.”
The Stars will earn some well-deserved time off, but the most important stretch of their season begins as soon as they return. It’ll be 25 games over two tireless months as the Stars fight for seeding in what should be their fifth consecutive postseason appearance.
The Stars simply cannot afford to lose any momentum like they did during their last break.
The holiday break lasted just three days. The Stars had won eight of 10 shortly before the break began. But one loss just before Christmas grew to six straight. The Stars didn’t win another game until Jan. 7.
And even when they did — scoring issues, penalties and overtime woes persisted. It took the Stars a full month to recover.
In an 82-game season, every team goes through stretches of that kind. Even the high-flying Colorado Avalanche, who were once poised to threaten the NHL record for points in a season, have stumbled into the break, going 4-5-1 in their last 10.
Gulutzan is just hopeful that his team can learn from its past mistakes.
“The adversity has really made us take a look at ourselves and see what makes us successful and what makes us a better team,” Gulutzan said. “I think from the coaching staff to the players sitting on the bench watching the ice, that extra one degree we’ve been talking about basically since I got here is in play and it makes us better as a team. The adversity has forced us in that direction.”
It’ll also need to clean up one glaring issue that lingers into the break. While the Stars managed to close out six straight wins, it wasn’t without allowing opponents to climb back into games late. The Stars sacrificed third-period leads to Vegas, Winnipeg and St. Louis twice. All four games were decided in overtime, a shootout or the final minute of regulation.
“There’s always something to work on as a group,” Benn said. “We’re not perfect, by any means. But I like the way we find ways to win. We’ll get some rest and come back and work at our game.”
Maybe the motivation coming back this time will be better. Someone in the locker room is likely to be an Olympic gold medalist. Others who missed out on their respective nation’s rosters will be well-rested ahead of a meaningful playoff push where the Stars seek to position themselves for another deep run — one that they hope can extend beyond the Western Conference finals, where they’ve fallen the last three years.
As long as the Olympians can emerge from their tournament healthy, Dallas will be as close to full strength as it’s been with defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin returning to the lineup Wednesday night after missing four games and Lian Bichsel set to return on Feb. 25 after missing two months to surgery.
Plus, the Stars still have everything left to play for. They’re just six points behind Colorado, who has two games in hand, and one point behind Minnesota with a game in hand. Dallas has five head-to-head contests remaining against the only two teams ahead of it in the division, conference and league standings (though, Carolina and Tampa Bay could pass Dallas with wins Thursday night).
“You’ve got to be where you’re at in the season, but at the same time, we’re preparing each game for the playoffs,” Duchene said. “We know we’re going to have Minnesota in the first round. If we win that, we’ve got Colorado. To do that, we need our game to be at a high level.”
The Stars better enjoy their rest while they have it. March, April and beyond will certainly keep them busy.
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