A Dallas Stars Christmas Carol: A look at Stars reclaiming first place

The Dallas Stars are currently in first place in the Central Division. They are well ahead of Winnipeg, Colorado and Minnesota. Blackout Dallas ponders the team's long-term success. Today they discuss the divisional paths and identify trends that could benefit the Stars down the stretch.

The Dallas Stars are currently in first place in their division. They have home ice advantage and are playing well despite injuries. Colorado is in the middle of a difficult season and is struggling to find its depth. The Avs are 3 points behind the Stars and have a 28-goal difference. The Stars need to win more games to improve their chances of winning the Stanley Cup. Denver is fighting for fourth place. St. Louis is third in Central. Nashville, Chicago, and Arizona are also struggling.

The Dallas Stars are the current division champions. Rick Bowness is the new coach of the Jets. The team is playing a different style of hockey. They are playing in the same division. Winnipeg is 4th in league with 8 wins overcoming 11 goals, while the Stars have 6 wins with 6 goals overcoming 8. The most time-on-ice averaged by a forward for Dallas is Robo with just over 18 minutes a game, whereas Winnipeg has 2 forwards averaging over 20 minutes. There is a 10-minute gap in average TOI between the teams.

Dallas Stars are aiming for Stanley Cup this season. Pete DeBoer has a track record of bringing focus to his teams in his first year. The Minnesota Wild's management is negligent of coaching and they play for the team that they feel holds the most talent. Minnesota is currently on the hot end, winning 8 of their last 10 games. Dallas is 10-4 after a loss. The Wild are on a 4-game losing streak. They are not united behind one voice. Texas is a unified group behind a singular cause. It is the same with the Wild. Their team is more talented than the opponents.

Dallas Stars have a lot of potential, but they are not a championship team. They have the potential to be a contender this season. They are a good team with a top 5 player at each position and one of the deepest rosters in the league.