9-9-6. 24 points. Two games out of hand. One point out of the final wild card spot. A lot of games left to play, but not a lot of promise to go off of.
That’s where the Dallas Stars stand over a quarter of the way into the season. Why is that? Why did a season that began with so much promise denature so quickly?
Can it be blamed on the slow start of the offense? Or should the defenders be held accountable for their consistent mistakes? And does the goaltending carry any of the burden? What about special teams?