Dallas starts 2016 ‘going in the wrong direction’

DALLAS The Dallas Stars shot out of the starting gate this season.

They lost just four of their first 21 games of the year, which took the Stars to lofty heights in the NHL standings.

Yet things haven’t been as rosy of late. Prior to Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the Stars were on a four-game losing streak with just one win in eight games.

“At the start of the year, we focused on playing real sound away from the puck,” said Stars head coach Lindy Ruff prior to the contest. “When the new year hit, the first road trip we got away from it and it hurt us dearly and we got going in the wrong direction.”

The Stars had just one win in January heading in to face they Oilers.

On Tuesday, the Stars fell 3-2, on the road to the Los Angeles Kings and 4-3 at the San Jose Sharks the game prior to that.

“I thought our last game was definitely as close as we’ve come to playing the way we were at the start of the year,” Ruff said. “We played a real sound game away from the puck. We were probably a save away from winning it or a specialteams kill or a special-teams power play away from winning the game. It’s not just the goaltending, if we had killed those penalties, maybe we would have gotten points out of those games.

“In both of those games, maybe an act of desperation helps, maybe that could be a blocked shot or it could be a better back check, so there are a lot of things that can get you going back in the right direction.”

Goaltending has been an issue of late. Both Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen have had their issues. Niemi got the start against the Oilers.

“Our goaltending has been like the rest of the team, it’s been OK,” Ruff said. “Offensively, we haven’t been good enough. Defensively in this stretch, we’ve given up too much and we need a save here or there to turn things around. I look at it as a combination of everything.”

BACK TO BASICS

Taylor Hall had a rough first two periods for the Oilers in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, but has since gone back to looking like the team’s best player.

After being on the ice for the first three goals in a 6-4 loss to the Lightning, Hall was able to refocus after a public display of emotion and a tongue lashing from head coach Todd McLellan.

“I just kind of simplified things a little bit,” Hall said prior to Thursday’s game. “I seemed to be following the puck around a little bit in the first couple of periods. When I don’t play well defensively, when I kind of neglect that part of the game, the rest of my game falters.”

Hall went on to set up Leon Draisaitl for the Oilers’ third goal against Tampa Bay.

He laid a similar feed to Teddy Purcell in the first period against Dallas, which went unconverted. Hall later collected an assist setting up Purcell on the power play.

IN AND OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE

Nail Yakupov was one of the Oilers’ best players in his first game back from an ankle injury just over a week ago, but has since returned to frustrating his coaches.

On Thursday, McLellan sent a message to the winger by slotting him on the fourth line to start the game, alongside Anton Lander and Matt Hendricks.

“He has to play in the top six, but I’m not just giving that to him, nobody just gets it,” McLellan said. “He can be as dynamic as he wants offensively, but if he’s giving up too many chances at the other end, it’s not going to work and that’s where we’re at.”

Yakupov did not last long on the fourth line, eventually moved up to play with Jordan Eberle. He scored Edmonton’s second goal late in the final period.