yave1964 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Last year the Stars missed the playoffs in spite of having the most potent offense in hockey, as their netminding led (if you choose to call it that) by Kari Lehtonen was plain awful. Jim Nill vowed to fix it this year, adding johnny Oduya to the defense and signing Antti Niemi to bolster the goaltending, essentially having two struggling starting goalies and vowing to ride the hot hand. Coach Ruff did a masterful job the first half of doing just that, whoever was hot started, a bad game got you sent to the bench. But Houston, errr, Dallas, we have a problem. What do you do when you do not have a hot hand to ride? They still have the best record in the West but the Blues have caught them in their own division and the Hawks are only a few points behind. After challenging the Capitals for the Presidents trophy lead for much of the year there is a very real chance that the Stars may finish as low as third in their own division and be forced to open on the road in Chicago or St. Louis. one point they sat at 29-10-4 but since then have been a very average 12-11-5 mostly because of their goaltending. Since the first of the year the team has given up five goals or more in a game a ridiculous 9 times, 4 or more three others. All losses BTW. And during that time, the offense while still scoring has not been quite what it was for the previous year and a half. Since the first of the year, 30 games, that means that 12 of them they have given up 4 or more goals, or 40 percent. AND in those 30 games, the starter has been pulled from net a mindboggling 8 times. This team is fun to watch but they are in biiiig trouble if they do not get the goaltending/defense figured out and soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 @yave1964 I think many of us saw this coming last year when they signed Niemi and decided to have goaltending by committee. How many Stanley Cup winners win with 2 goalies instead of having 1 prominent goalie? Over the last 15 games going back to the middle of February the Stars have scored a total of 47 goals (3.1 goals/game) and given up a total 56 goals (3.7 goals/game). Totally agree, unless the Stars figure out what is going on....it will be quick exit from the playoffs this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 So basically what you're saying is........ the Stars need to score more goals! LOL. They should have acquired Phil Kessel when they had the chance! Seriously though, I have no sympathy for teams that create their own problems. If a team gets bit by the injury bug, that's bad luck. If a team needs goaltending and does nothing to address that need, they deserve to get lit up every night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 1 hour ago, pilldoc said: @yave1964 I think many of us saw this coming last year when they signed Niemi and decided to have goaltending by committee. How many Stanley Cup winners win with 2 goalies instead of having 1 prominent goalie? Over the last 15 games going back to the middle of February the Stars have scored a total of 47 goals (3.1 goals/game) and given up a total 56 goals (3.7 goals/game). Totally agree, unless the Stars figure out what is going on....it will be quick exit from the playoffs this year. Yup. I have been vocal in my dislike of Niemi for 5 years lol. Just shoot it 18 inches or more above ice level and it has a very good chance of going in. He also sucks at tracking the puck and handles it like a live grenade, usually giving it to opposing forwards. I have had a ball going into Dallas threads seeing them all saying "OMG, every time Niemi handles the puck I pee myself" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsideEdge Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 So who should the Stars go after this off season? Really not a ton of quality guys available. Reimer is an option. Can't help but think that they will be battling Calgary for a shot at Bishop. It will be interesting. I just don't think the Stars can win with th current goaltending tandem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 They need Ryan Miller and then all will be well. I think everyone here scratched their heads at Niemi. And we all knew Letfourin was horrible. They could be a bit stronger on defense, but even a strong defense is going to give up harmless shots. The problem in Dallas is that even "harmless" shots prove to be an adventure. I know the answer is "score more goals," but they're scoring less. J0e will attest that neither Benn nor Seguin are what they were at the beginning of the year. I don't get to watch enough Stars games, but I wonder if some of that is urge to help protect the back end. Sharp and Spezza don't seem to be quite what they were earlier, either. Unless they draw the Blues, it's one and out in Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samifan Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 2 hours ago, ruxpin said: They need Ryan Miller and then all will be well. @ruxpin you beat me to it, LOL. Miller can't go to Dallas because he's going back to Buffalo. I've heard they would welcome him back with open arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 3 hours ago, Samifan said: @ruxpin you beat me to it, LOL. Miller can't go to Dallas because he's going back to Buffalo. I've heard they would welcome him back with open arms. legs. Fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 On 2016-03-17 at 1:59 PM, ruxpin said: They need Ryan Miller and then all will be well. I think everyone here scratched their heads at Niemi. And we all knew Letfourin was horrible. They could be a bit stronger on defense, but even a strong defense is going to give up harmless shots. The problem in Dallas is that even "harmless" shots prove to be an adventure. I know the answer is "score more goals," but they're scoring less. J0e will attest that neither Benn nor Seguin are what they were at the beginning of the year. I don't get to watch enough Stars games, but I wonder if some of that is urge to help protect the back end. Sharp and Spezza don't seem to be quite what they were earlier, either. Unless they draw the Blues, it's one and out in Dallas. Not losing much sleep over it this year since at best I can finish 7th-8th. But yeah, not trusting your goalie has a terribad impact on chances you take up front and hesitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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