Texas Stars Report: "We Didn't Have Finish"

The Texas Stars Report on Defending Big D...
It's been a rough few weeks for the Texas Stars (20-22-1-2, 43 pts, #15 Western Conference), as they have not won a hockey game since January 21st and playoff hopes are dwindling in Cedar Park. In two games this week, Texas fell to the Aeros in Houston (Minnesota Wild) and the Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes) at home. The two losses put Texas on a four game skid.

Updating last week's points pace report, the Stars need forty points to stay on pace with the eighth seed in the West. With only 33 games remaining, the task is becoming more daunting by the day. The required .606 win percentage is made more difficult by the sixteen remaining games against their own division, against which Texas has a 9-15-0-2 record on the season. In the plus column, the Stars will play ten of the remaining seventeen against the North Division, which they have a 3-0 record against so far this season. If current pace holds, Texas could be the only team to miss the playoffs in the West Division.

For Coach Pyle, it boils down to two things: self-discipline and finish. Concerning Saturday's game, he opined, "We missed four or five open nets, and the power play was sloppy. We had opportunities, but we didn't have finish."

Also in Saturday's game, Texas had a rough time with unnecessary penalties: "The self discpline of shutting your mouth, doing your job and staying out of the penalty box: that's a big part of the game. That's probably the most important trait any player can have. That's where some of these guys struggle."
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