Well, if you thought the Stars couldn’t one-up what they did in the third period Monday night, guess again. The Stars were absent against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 6-2 loss last night. This was the worst hockey I’ve seen from the Stars this season. Chicago is a team in the middle of building around Connor Bedard, and the Stars allowed them to have a field day before Thanksgiving tomorrow. So many things went wrong last night; let’s start with the goaltending.
Nov 27, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin (46) and Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno (17) battle for the puck during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images
The Stars signed Casey DeSmith over the offseason to replace Scott Wedgewood. While it’s a value only paying DeSmith a million dollars, Jim Nill is going to wish he had spent a premium price on Scott Wedgewood. While Wedgewood is in the same boat as DeSmith this season regarding performance, you would think DeSmith would be better tonight after losing to the Anaheim Ducks in Dallas. DeSmith couldn’t stop a feral cat if one leaped across his crease last night.
Jake Oettinger can’t handle playing the entire season and put on a playoff-worthy performance in the playoffs. I applaud Pete DeBoer for not throwing Oettinger in there last night. While writing this postgame article, I realized the Stars need Oettinger for the next two games against Colorado and Winnipeg. Both teams would have a field day against DeSmith. Having your top goaltender deal with two good Central Division teams is the best for this weekend.
Let’s move on to the defensemen. That was another weak point for the Stars this evening. Brendan Smith and Matt Dumba combined for -7 last night. While some other players on the team made defensive mistakes, a combined -7 between two defensemen is really bad. Nils Lundkvist would have done better if he wasn’t injured tonight. I can’t wait for the day that Lundkvist is re-added to the lineup and Dumba gets benched.
Finally, let’s talk about the veterans. They needed to step up last night and take over the game when the Stars couldn’t get anything going. By the end of the first period, the Stars were content on losing the game. In the second period, I expected them to come out of the locker room and destroy the Blackhawks. Boy, was I wrong about that; they continued with the same energy they had in the first period. Someone has to step up in that locker room and be vocal. Just because Roope Hintz was out doesn’t mean the rest of the team takes the night off.
We are a quarter of the way through the season, and the inconsistency is very concerning. You can’t allow teams like the Chicago Blackhawks to dog-walk you for 60 minutes. I hope there was a players-only meeting after the game. Last night’s performance will not carry over well against teams like the Avalanche and the Jets this weekend. The Stars must show up and destroy both teams at the American Airlines Center. You can’t keep losing games and expect to make the playoffs.
