Over the course of the whole season in our after game review episodes, Chris, James, and I have complained about the officiating.
I've said this multiple times on the pod that it feels the Stars are getting called for the stupid fluff stuff and in return, the Stars are not getting the benefit of power plays. It doesn't make any sense when you consider the type of system the Stars play. Logically, the Stars' aggression should lead to penalties, but it should also lead to more opportunities up a man on the power play.
I haven't had a stat or anything concrete to back this up. However, doing some research for my latest Blackout Dallas article, I found this and it is incredulous and egregious.
The net penalties differential for the Dallas Stars through 19 games is negative 24. They rank 32nd out of 32 teams in the NHL in this category. Here's what this means. The Dallas Stars have taken 94 penalties while only receiving 70 power plays! What's even more frustrating is the two teams above us are the Arizona Coyotes (-13) and the Anaheim Ducks (-15); two of the worst teams in the entire NHL!
For me, it makes sense if your net penalties differential is sucky if you're a bad team... THE STARS AREN'T! They're one of the division leaders in the Central Division right now!
Officiating is not all to blame for the Stars' lack of discipline when it comes to penalties, but you can't sit here and tell me right now that the net penalties differential stat makes any sense!
Sorry, I'm done. I needed somewhere to rant.
