Last night’s victory of the St. Louis Blues was instructive. For fans of the Dallas Stars, it was an Aaron Rodgers moment: Relax. For their foes, and for the rest of the NHL, it should stand as a sobering reminder that this team hasn’t been “figured out.” No system has been cracked. Injuries have disrupted the start of the season, but there are still reasons for significant optimism.
We’ll start with the standings. Last night’s win left Dallas 7th in the Western Conference and 4th in the Central Division. For better context, the Stars are five points behind both the conference-leading Edmonton Oilers (in and of itself a sign of how little attention we should pay standings at this point of the season) and Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks.