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Dallas Stars Struggling in January

By Ryan Ritchie |
Jan 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) skates off the ice after scoring against Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck (30) during the overtime shootout at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Jets 2-1 in the overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) skates off the ice after scoring against Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck (30) during the overtime shootout at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Jets 2-1 in the overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Stars Struggling in the Month of January

After sitting atop the Western Conference for the first half of the 2015-16 season, a sloppy month of December saw the Chicago Blackhawks leapfrog the Dallas Stars to take control of both the division and conference. Chicago is now 33-15-4 with 70 points, while Dallas is 30-14-5 with 65 points.

The Dallas Stars are 2-6-2 in the month of January with 23 goals for, and 34 goals against. This coming after a strong December that saw the team go 9-4-2.

Both Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen are struggling in net, allowing two or more goals in nine of 10 contests. The pair have teamed up for .879 save percentage combined. Goal support was limited in January, which saw Dallas fall short by one goal in five of 10 games.

Losses in January were delivered by New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Colorado Avalanche.

Asides from lousy goaltending, the Dallas Stars are also lacking production from its top two players. After keeping pace with Chicago’s Patrick Kane for the first half of the season, both Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have tailed off in January. Coach Lindy Ruff even went as far as splitting the pair up in hopes of igniting his star players. 

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Jamie Benn has five points in his last six games, this after going pointless in the first four games of the month. Tyler Seguin has 3 points in his last 10 games, which included one goal, one assist in a loss versus San Jose, and eight point-less campaigns.

Jason Spezza leads Dallas Stars scorers in January with 10 points in 10 games. Next highest is Patrick Sharp, with eight points in 10 games. Among others who have cooled off, defenseman John Klingberg has one assist in his last eight games. Klingberg managed to match a point-per-game pace through the first almost 30 games of the 2015-16 season.

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In January, the Dallas Stars are 4/28 on the powerplay (operating at roughly 14 percent). Their largest struggle is penalty killing, having allowed eight goals on 28 opportunities (71.42 percent) in the last 10 games. It’s worth noting the Stars averaged more penalties in January than average, including a game where they beat Winnipeg at being undisciplined.

Keeping the puck out is top priority for the Dallas Stars moving forward, but they’ll need some additional goal support compared to the lackluster performances they’ve gotten thus far in 2016.

Consider this merely a bump in the road. All great teams go through winning and losing streaks throughout a season. When push comes to shove in April, the Dallas Stars should be considered Stanley Cup contenders.

Statistics were obtained via Yahoo Sports

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