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Dallas Stars Coach Lindy Ruff Takes Blame For Defensive Issues

By Catherine Silverman

Oct 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff protests after a goal was called back during the third period of an NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center. Dallas won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff protests after a goal was called back during the third period of an NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center. Dallas won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports /
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Lindy Ruff refuses to place blame for the Dallas Stars‘ defensive issues with anyone but himself

You’ve got to love a team coach who takes the blame when things go wrong over the course of a season.

Of course, the coach is not always the one to blame. I don’t think that Darryl Sutter has much to do with Jonathan Quick’s game-to-game performance, and there’s only so much blame that Arizona Coyotes head coach can take for the team’s 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues last Saturday.

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Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff, though, refuses to point fingers for the team’s horrendous GAA to start off the season.

The team’s struggles on the blue line are most likely not a permanent thing. In addition to the team losing Patrik Nemeth to an arm laceration for the remainder of the season, both Brendon Dillon and Jordie Benn are relatively new to the NHL. Jamie Oleksiak and Jyrki Jokipakka are practically making their league debuts (Jokipakka actually is, while Oleksiak only has 25 career games under his belt in the big league), leaving Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley to serve as the only truly experienced defensemen on the team.

It’s more than that, though. Dillon was a pending RFA up until the puck drop at the start of the season, meaning that he missed out on the entirety of the team’s preseason play. He may have led the team in on-ice minutes last season, but that kind of absence can make it hard to come back.

Hopefully, though, Ruff can turn this team’s blue line around.

Should they stop allowing a monstrous number of goals every game (they currently sit at 22nd in the league with an average of 3.17 goals allowed per game), the Stars could be poised to serve as an enormous threat in the West this year.

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