As of tomorrow, it will have been a calendar month since the Dallas Stars have won a game on the road, and if you want a good idea of how seriously the team has struggled away from the American Airlines Center, you need look no further than the special teams stats.
On their three-game west coast swing that wrapped up with a 3-2 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Stars went 1-for-8 on power plays and 3-for-7 on the penalty kill, while losing all three. In the loss to the Kings, they were 0-2 on power plays and 1-2 on the kill.
“Our penalty kill is killing us right now,” Stars defenseman Alex Goligosky told the team’s official website.
Added forward Ales Hemsky, who scored a goal in the loss: “We have to be better on special teams.”
The loss in Los Angeles left Stars coach Lindy Ruff disappointed maybe, but not discouraged.
“We just didn’t finish. We had some good opportunities,” Ruff said. “If you play that hard—and that was a hard game—you’ll win your share.”
