The Dallas Stars are off to a great start thus far in the 2011-2012 NHL season. They're sitting in first place in the Pacific Division with a record of 18-11-1 and have 37 points.They're currently playing in an extremely weak division, and the recent NHL power rankings seem to reflect that.
In taking a look at the various power rankings as of December 13, the weak division hurts the Stars in the eyes of most pundits. The overall power rankings as gathered by Real Clear Sports has Dallas directly in the middle of the pack at No. 15. ESPN seems to reflect the most recent surge by the Stars, moving them up four spots from last week to slot them in at No. 11. The Hockey News has the Stars at No. 16, citing their league-worst 32.6 shots allowed per game. FOX Sports on MSN places Dallas in the middle of the pack, noting that the Stars would be the three-seed if the playoff started today.
The Stars are in the midst of an important road trip and dropped a game to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. While the rest of the division is playing sloppily, now would be an ideal time for the Stars to open some distance between them and the rest of the division.
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