The Dallas Stars are pointless this year.
That phrase is meant to be taken literally -- since flipping the calendar to 2014, Dallas has yet to obtain a single point from six games, losing all of them in regulation while being outscored 26-12.
According to the Dallas Morning-News, it’s the first time the Stars have lost six in regulation since the 1995-96 campaign, a year in which the team went 26-42-14 -- the worst record in the 20 years the club has been in Dallas.
Needless to say, things are rough in Big D.
“When you’re struggling as a group, instead of finding ways to win you find ways to lose, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” veteran Ray Whitney explained. “You’re not going to get a win until you earn it.”
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s plaguing the Stars right now, because so many areas are cause for concern. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have just one combined point in the last five games, Kari Lehtnonen has an .882 save percentage in January and the club’s power-play at home -- an NHL-worst 7.5 percent -- is so bad it failed to record a single shot in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Islanders (of course, the Isles failed to either... but that’s hardly the point.)
If there’s a saving grace for the Stars, it’s that they’ll be spending the next while mostly in Dallas. They host Edmonton and Boston this week before a two-game set in Minnesota and Nashville. After that, Dallas has a five-game homestand, which should serve it well -- the club is 9-7-5 at American Airlines this season, and collected five of a possible six points at home to close out 2013.
If that can’t get them out of this slump... well, things could get even rougher.