DENVER _ Consider this a step forward.
The Stars have been showing signs of getting their aggressive team game together in the past three games, but not getting results. On Saturday, the hard work was turned into a 3-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche.
Dallas received goals from the power play and the fourth line, and did a much better job of protecting goalie Kari Lehtonen, using the strategy that the best defense is a good offense. Lehtonen had to make just 23 saves to get his 35th career shutout.
The win halted a three-game losing streak for the Stars and evened their record at 10-10-6 (26 points). It was a much-needed win, as the Avalanche finished their five-game homestand without a win (0-4-1) and dropped to 9-13-1 (19 points).
Stars coach Lindy Ruff said before the game that his team had been showing signs of breaking out of its doldrums by relying on an aggressive attacking style that resulted in 35 shots on goal against both Detroit and Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Thursday. While the Stars lost those games, Ruff said the needle was pointing in the right direction for his team.
"We've done a lot of good things in the last two games," Ruff said. "We missed way too many good opportunities. I like five of our last six periods, and we've got nothing for it. We've got to change that. We've got to make sure on some of those opportunities we find the back of the net, and we've got to show some patience when we are chasing the game, so we don't give up the big opportunities."
Curtis McKenzie was the unlikely man to break through offensively. A healthy scratch for six of the previous seven games, McKenzie was thrust into the lineup when the Stars placed Patrick Sharp on IR because of concussion symptoms. McKenzie took advantage with three shots on goal in the first period.
His approach was simple, and he was rewarded with an "ugly" goal that was nothing but beautiful to the Stars. McKenzie put a hard shot on net that Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov couldn't handle, and then followed the puck to the net, where it was knocked in during a scramble.
It was exactly what the Stars needed. Dallas is a much better team when playing with a lead, and hasn't been doing that much lately. In fact, when Tyler Seguin ripped home a power play one-timer in the second period, it was the first time the Stars had a two-goal lead since Nov. 17.
That's one of the reasons Dallas has been struggling to find the balance between aggression and responsibility.
The win definitely helps a team that entered the game with the worst goals against average in the league at 3.40 per game and the worst goal differential at minus-22. It also helps the Stars take a deep breath as they head into a stretch where they play 10 of the next 13 games at home.
There is the opportunity now to create an attitude change in a season that was quickly turning sour. Ruff said he has to embrace that challenge.
"It's my job to keep them up," Ruff said before the game. "Right now, it's hard. I'm spending a lot of time trying to set my eye on the positive, but also trying to correct a few critical system errors that have turned the games."
For one night, he did just that.
