DALLAS _ The Stars have been missing nights like Tuesday night's 5-3 loss over Nashville, a rambunctious, back-and-forth and lively game against a Central Division rival.
They needed the offensive jolt that Tuesday provided to help erase the stench of a one-win road trip, to help rid the club of a scoreless streak that eventually reached 145 minutes. In the crowded and stunningly mediocre Western Conference, the Stars began to sink down the standings into a wild-card spot.
So Tuesday night was needed. The offense finally delivered. But it still wasn't enough.
Roman Josi scored the game-winning goal with 12:25 left in the third period, a fluky floater that deflected off a Dallas defender and over goaltender Anton Khudobin. The goal capped an entertaining game that handed the Stars their fifth loss in the last six games, and moved them six points behind St. Louis for third place in the division.
Jason Spezza, Esa Lindell and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars, the first goals Dallas scored in a week.
The offense was partly to be expected. The Stars _ although a poor overall offensive team _ are about average at the American Airlines Center. At home, Dallas is the team that scores and defends and wins. In their last four home games, all wins, the Stars averaged 3.25 goals.
The defense is more concerning. After surrendering six goals in Tampa Bay and three in Carolina, the Stars' trademark goal prevention was missing again. Khudobin started his season-high sixth straight game of the season on Tuesday night, a workload necessitated by an upper-body injury to Ben Bishop.
Perhaps the Stars defense returns to form with a healthy Bishop and a rested Khudobin, erasing comparisons to last season's collapse. Either way, the Stars offense will be the wild card in the success of the rest of the season and a potential playoff run.
Before Tuesday's loss, Stars coach Jim Montgomery talked about the offense, which had been shut out in back-to-back games. The chances were there, the finish wasn't. But it's the balance between offense and defense that Montgomery looks at.
"Both games, we probably created more chances than we usually do," Montgomery said. "The fact that we didn't score, two goalies played great. We look at the other side of the puck more. We gave up more odd-man rushes than we usually do, which gave open looks."
Montgomery wasn't pleased with how the Stars turned the puck over in the offensive zone, which does two things: prevents your own goal-scoring, and gifts opportunities going the other way. He talked about not vacating the middle of the ice and better communication.
Montgomery's often talked about good defense leading to offense. And the Stars also need it to swing the other way, too. Good offense can keep from ever playing defense.
"I'm never going to discourage players from trying to make plays," Montgomery said. "What we do is when they don't have time and space through the neutral zone, then they turn it over trying to go through the middle, which happened a couple times that game, but didn't hurt us. Ones that hurt us were guys trying to make plays. You always want guys trying to make plays, or else you're never going to score."
