As the Dallas Stars approached their 2019 preseason finale against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, there was a certain sense of unfulfilled expectations looming around the team.
Yes, they had only played six games up to that point and their lineups had been so scattered from game-to-game that trying to grade the “team” seemed illogical. To top it all off, it was only the preseason and the regular season had yet to take effect.
But expectations and concerns still lingered. Through six preseason contests, the Stars were 3-3-0. They had been shut out by two different opponents, scored a total of seven goals in the preseason, and hadn’t scored more than two goals in a single game.