After uncharacteristic offensive struggles through the first 12 games of the 2024-25 season, the Dallas Stars offence has found its rhythm.
The Stars narrowly avoided a shutout against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 9 and have now scored seven goals in back-to-back games since that game. This is the first time they have done so since the franchise moved to Dallas.
“That’s hockey, right? You go a dozen games where you feel like you can’t score and then get 14 in two games,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer remarked after Thursday’s 7-2 win over the Boston Bruins. “We’ve just got to keep doing the right things every time. … We were creating chances, we just haven’t been finishing. We had to stick with it and wait til the dam breaks.”
Where Has the Offence Been?
The dam seems to have broken, begging the question, “Where has the Dallas Stars offence been all year?” Dallas returned much of its offensive production from a year ago with guys like Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, Wyatt Johnston, and Jason Robertson, and added young guys with savvy scoring abilities in Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque.
Yet, Dallas averaged 3.00 goals per game through its first 13 contests. That does not seem terrible on paper but would be tied for 17th in the NHL today. With all the resources and skill the Stars have in their lineup, there is no way they should be in the league’s bottom half.
“We didn’t think offence would be a challenge,” assistant coach Steve Spott admitted earlier this week. “We didn’t — not with what we had returning here offensively. … I don’t think we’ve hit our full stride yet offensively as a hockey club. … But I think we’re turning a corner. We’re playing faster, we’re quick at getting the puck, and we’re getting rewarded in the neutral zone for playing faster. When we do those things, we’re a dangerous hockey club.”
It’s still early in the season, and things have improved. Dallas is now up to 3.47 goals per game (11th in the NHL) as it seems to be finding its stride.
Upcoming Chances for Improvement
The Stars are now 10-5-0 on the season and sit in third place in the Central Division. Dallas plays the Minnesota Wild on the road on Saturday night before a long stretch of games against mostly inferior teams. If the offence continues to click, the Stars could catapult up the Central Division standings and into a spot for which they’ve been expected to compete all along.
“We want to get rolling here more,” Seguin told the media after Thursday’s win. “Looking at the calendar, we’ve got a lot of games coming up here where we can grab two points every night and get something going.”
Seguin has been a massive part of Dallas’ offense since he arrived in 2013. He picked up his 800th career point on Thursday, and his line has scored five goals and tallied 14 points in the last two games.
“I like the way he’s getting his points right now,” DeBoer said of Seguin. “He’s just playing hard; he’s playing a 200-foot game. He’s leading — great leadership for us doing and saying all the right things.”
Dallas also gets a rematch with Winnipeg on Dec. 1. This provides another opportunity to see where it truly stacks up against the rest of the NHL’s top teams. The Stars managed just one late third-period goal in their last meeting. However, the Stars believe they had many missed opportunities that could have changed that game. Converting on those opportunities against the elite teams is paramount if Dallas wants to contend for the Stanley Cup.
Main photo by: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
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