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Hot start has teams ‘really paying attention’ to Stars

Dallas Stars v Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FL - OCTOBER 17: Head coach Lindy Ruff of the Dallas Stars directs the players during a break in third period action against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on October 17, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. The Stars defeated the Panthers 4-2. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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The Dallas Stars are experiencing their season’s first real dose of adversity.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that, according to coach Lindy Ruff, the adversity has only arisen because the Stars are off to such a hot start.

“We’re in a place that a lot of guys haven’t been before, and we’ve got to handle it better,” Ruff told the Dallas Morning News after last night’s 3-1 loss to Calgary. “We are at the top of the league, we’ve got teams that are really paying attention to what our strengths are, and I am trying to find an extra two or three percent here or there to help them on their way.”

Last night’s loss came after Tuesday’s 5-1 win over Columbus -- a good result, yes, but a performance that left Ruff fuming.

“I’m pretty frustrated with the way we played,” Ruff told the newspaper. “We had a total lack of mental focus. I know we won 5-1, but we’ll lose games if we play like that.”

And as noted by broadcaster Mike Kelly, the Stars have a challenging schedule ahead of them:

As good a reason as any for Ruff to get that “extra two or three percent” out of his troops.

The Stars host the Canadiens on Saturday.

Related: Are the Stars contenders or pretenders?