GET ME SOME GRAVOL

What a perplexing team this 2009-10 Stars are.

I, like many of you, come away from a lot of games not knowing whether to be happy, sad, disappointed, disgusted, relieved, disillusioned, titillated, teased…sometimes all of them on the same night.

At last check the Stars were one of just five teams who have not strung together at least three wins so far this season. Toronto, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and St Louis are the others – not the company you want to keep.

Hey guys, can we get just a modicum of consistency, please?

Once again today the Stars followed a victory with a loss of some sort, this time another Shootout defeat – in a game the Stars led 2-0 in. Gugh!

The breakdown of results following wins is as follows:

• Win followed by regulation loss (6x)
• Win followed by shootout loss (4x)
• Win followed by overtime loss (1x)
• Win followed by another win – in overtime (1x)
• Win followed by another win in regulation (1x)

So what is causing this nausea – inducing rollercoaster ride the team has us on?

That’s a tough question to answer cause the root of inconsistency is rarely just one thing, but one thing they seem to have fallen into a pattern of is “situational motivation” They win a game they get satisfied or over-pleased with themselves and then look for easier ways to find successive success. They lose a game and they refocus their play, rededicate themselves to hard-work, and “nip it in the bud”.

After much consternation and examination maybe the #1 culprit in this peak and valley start is simply - youth. For most of the first 30 games 3 of the 4 lines has had at least one relatively inexperienced player on it and every defense pair has a guy who is at, under, or around the 200 games played mark.

Young guys tend to ebb and flow their way through the season – they can be the embodiment of situationally motivated. Brilliant one night, dull the next. Steady and consistent are not words often used to describe them.

But it isn’t just the fuzzy faced ones at fault.

When the internal pressure for all involved to be at their best every time they step on the ice ramps up, they’ll be more consistent.

When they get more focused on the quality of minutes they play as individuals rather than quantity, they’ll be more consistent.

When they dictate the games pace for 60 full minutes, they’ll see more consistent results.

When they consistently get game saving stops, their record will be more consistent

When they figure out the Shootout, they’ll stop consistently losing them.

I could go on, but I won’t. I’m feeling woozy.