First Shift \ud83c\udfd2<\/p>\n
Glen Gulutzan has preached \u201cone degree more\u201d since taking over the Stars last summer, and it has helped Dallas become one of the best teams in the league.<\/p>\n
In more recent games, however, that \u201cone degree\u201d has been lacking and the team has struggled because of it.<\/p>\n
Now, a good deal of that absence has been created by players out with injuries. But, the bottom line is the hungry opposition has been getting just a little bit more of that \u201cone degree more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t matched the work ethic of the teams that are trying to get in,\u201d Gulutzan said after a 6-3 loss at Boston Tuesday. \u201cThey\u2019re up a half a degree and we\u2019re down a half a degree, and that\u2019s a degree of separation. At some point, we have to dig in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mathematically speaking, there probably more than a degree or two involved in this equation, but it\u2019s clear the Stars are lacking. In their 14-0-1 run that tied a franchise record for consecutive games with a point in the standings, Dallas averaged 3.86 goals for, 2.25 goals against and\u00a0outshot the opposition on average 27-22 in that span. During its current 2-5-2 slump, the Stars are averaging 2.44 goals per game, allowing 3.44 and have been outshot 23-26 on average.<\/p>\n
Those are significant numbers, but they do speak to the details of the game. Gulutzan has said all year that faceoffs reflect intensity. During the winning streak, Dallas won 53.0 percent. During the slump, it was 47.7 percent. The goalie\u2019s save percentage during the winning run was .897. During the more recent losses, it was .867.<\/p>\n
Bottom line, everyone can be better. The power play went from37.1 percent success rate to 20.7. The penalty kill went from 86.4 percent to 76.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Bottom line, the team needs more in pretty much every single area.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go through cold phases and it\u2019s how you react to them,\u201d said forward Duchene. \u201cI think our offensive side of the game has gone a little stale. When we were on that streak, things were tilting our way, and now they\u2019re tilting the other way. So when it\u2019s not going your way, you\u2019ve got to dig deep and do a little extra to get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s part of the one degree. The power play that has dominated for much of the season is now struggling to get the same chance.<\/p>\n