Are The Dallas Stars The Next New York Rangers?

They are accustomed to winning in Dallas. At least, the hockey fans are accustomed to winning. But these days, the Stars are looking like the NHL's new poster boys for lazy, overpaid, underachieving hockey. And the frustration is beginning to boil over at the Star-Telegram.

Reporter Jim Reeves unloaded on the team following a dismal 6-2 loss to Detroit on Wednesday. Rather than go in for analysis or dime-store psychology, Reeves simply declares that the Stars are playing like stooges:

"Their 7-8-1-0 record doesn't begin to tell the story of their misery. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record all season. They're sucking on their first four-game losing streak since 1996, when Modano was still just a pup. They're coming off an 0-3 road trip -- followed by those two restful days away from the ice -- in which they scored just two goals."

Hard to argue with that evidence.

As expected, Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Marty Turco are called out for their indifferent play, and rightly so. Zubov looked particularly bad against Detroit. Pierre Turgeon (of course), Scott Young and young Finns Niko Kapanen and Antti Miettinen are also singled out.

Searching for good news amidst the rubble, Richard Durrett and Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News suggest that Brenden Morrow is playing well, Jason Arnott looks good compared to most of his teammates, and Bill Guerin obviously hasn't lost his scoring touch. They also point out, helpfully, that it's a little early to fire the coach or turn over the roster.

Durrett and Heika are perhaps a little too kind to the Stars. But as Durrett notes, Dallas plays divisional opponents in four of the next six games, a stretch that could reveal a lot about where the team stands among its rivals.