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Stars scratch John Klingberg again

Dallas Stars v Arizona Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 18: John Klingberg #3 of the Dallas Stars during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on February 18, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Stars 6-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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For the second time in the past 10 days defenseman John Klingberg was a healthy scratch for the Dallas Stars when he sat out their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

This comes after he was scratched by the team for their game against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 21 for missing a team meeting.

Overall it has been an extremely tough season for Klingberg, at least based on the standard he set for himself during his first two years in the league. His performance to this point has not come close to matching what he had done since joining the team in the middle of the 2014-15 season.

Entering Tuesday he had 11 points in 22 games, had seen a massive drop in his possession numbers (going from a 55.3 Corsi a year ago to just 45.6 so far this season), and had been struggling in the defensive zone.

In his first two years in the league he had 96 points in 141 games and finished in sixth in the Norris Trophy voting a year ago. He is still one of the top young defensemen in the league and possesses game changing ability, but between being disciplined for missing a meeting and getting benched on Tuesday for his recent struggles, this has been a particularly rough stretch for him.

His struggles, combined with a ton of injuries throughout the lineup and a still unsettled goaltending situation has resulted in a disappointing start for the Stars.

They still held a wild card spot in the Western Conference entering play Tuesday, but had won just nine of their first 23 games (9-8-6).