After they finished their stretches in practice at the SAP Center Monday morning, Stars players pulled their circle in tight and shared several minutes of private conversation.
Coaches stayed near the boards while quiet discussion buzzed throughout the huddle of helmets. It was an interesting gesture for a team that was coming off an embarrassing 5-1 loss Sunday and still has 14 games remaining with little hope of making the playoffs.
"It's very important," said Jason Spezza, one of the team's alternate captains. "We have 14 games left, that's a lot of hockey. We owe it to ourselves to put forth a better effort than we had last night.