DALLAS _ The Stars' problems are many and varied this season, but the mixed assortment of deficiencies has created one very real explanation on why this team is expected to miss the playoffs for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
They can't put together a winning streak.
Dallas was hoping to string together three victories in a row for just the second time this season Wednesday, but instead folded in a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at American Airlines Center. The Stars conveniently packaged a season's worth of excuses into one game, including pulling the goalie, giving up two power-play goals and tallying another "own goal."
"They won the special-teams battle, they got up early, that made them hard to play against," said Jason Spezza, who had a goal and an assist. "We haven't been able to go on streaks, and that's why we are where we are."
The Stars are 27-30-10, good for 64 points. If they want to get in position to battle for a wild-card playoff spot, they probably need to be at around 88 to 90 points. That means they need to win 12 or 13 of their final 15 games.
Even after winning two in a row, that math looks really tough.
"I wish I had the answer," forward Adam Cracknell said when asked why the team hasn't been able to get on a winning streak. "We played a pretty good game in Washington and played well in Florida. We know what we have to do and we have the skill set to do that, but you have to be focused on every shift."
Instead, the Stars had too many holes in their game. A bouncing puck came to Spezza in the first period and he couldn't convert in front of an open net. Then, Ottawa capitalized on a power play against the Stars' leaky penalty kill to give the Senators the all-important first goal.
Then, rookie defenseman Fredrik Claesson scored on a deflected shot, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau shoveled a puck through Kari Lehtonen to chase him from the game in the second period. It was the 11th time this season Dallas has used two goalies in a game, and the ploy worked for almost a full period.
Dallas did not allow a shot on goal against Antti Niemi for 14:49 and had several scoring chances at the other end. Tyler Seguin scored his 23rd goal and the Stars looked like they were going to close within one goal on several occasions.
But Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, who finished with 35 saves, came up big, and Dallas made another mistake.
Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf floated a shot on goal from the point and it was tipped by Viktor Stalberg past Niemi. The first shot the relief goalie saw landed in the net and gave Ottawa a 4-1 lead, and that was pretty much the game.
"We just made mistakes," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We should have stepped in front of that puck."
Now the Stars head out on a four-game trip through California and Canada and get to try to start all over again trying to put together a winning streak. The fact that the victories came against Los Angeles, Colorado and Arizona the last time (Dec. 23-29) might mean the wait might take until the end of the season.
