The Dallas Stars thought they addressed their big area of weakness, goaltending, in the offseason, but shaky play between the pipes continues to haunt the club.

The Master Plan

After his club finished next to last in team save percentage last season (.895), general manager Jim Nill decided to compliment incumbent Kari Lehtonen with the acquisition of Antti Niemi from San Jose.

At the time, Nill contended the NHL had become a two-goalie league, and that a healthy measure of competition would be beneficial for both Lehtonen and Niemi.

The GM was so confident in this philosophy that he, with the blessing of owner Tom Gaglardi, put pen to paper on a three-year, $13.5-million contract for Niemi, even with Lehtonen already signed through to the end of 2017-18 with a cap hit of $5.9 million.

Add it all up, and the Stars entered the season with a supposed 1A/1B goalie combo carrying a combined salary cap hit of $10.4 million.

Where They Stand

With 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Stars have posted a record of 38-20-7, good for a share of the Central Division lead in points along with Chicago and St. Louis.

Following a loss to Nashville on Tuesday, however, Dallas has gone 3-5-2 over the past 10 games, allowing 40 goals against over that span.

It's an ugly stretch, and it certainly hasn't helped the overall numbers posted by Lehtonen and Niemi to date.

What's boosting the Stars is their elite-level offense, which ranks first in the NHL with 209 goals, four more than Washington, albeit in three more games played.

That's all well and good, but Dallas finished last season in the second spot in terms of goals for (one behind Tampa Bay) yet failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a plus-1 goal differential.

The Outlook

Based on the NHL's current playoff format, the Stars would have to beat two divisional opponents to advance to the Western Conference finals. Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and Minnesota have better team save percentages to date, and even Colorado's goalies - a team now on the outside looking in - have performed better than the Stars' duo.

At present, only five teams have allowed more goals than the Stars, and while the addition of the shot-blocking Kris Russell is expected to shore up the defense, the Stars' strong regular season could very well translate into a first-or second-round playoff exit if the goaltenders don't improve.

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The Minnesota Wild's scoring woes appear to be a thing of the past as John Torchetti's club matched a season-high in goals in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

The two points draw the Wild even with the Avalanche at 68 points, but with a game in hand, Minnesota holds the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Western Conference Wild Card Standings

It was just over a month ago when the Wild scored six goals over a six-game period from Jan. 9-20. The team has now scored at least five goals in five of nine games since replacing head coach Mike Yeo with Torchetti on Feb. 13.

A big part of their recent success has been the production from their third line of Erik Haula, Jason Pominville, and Nino Niederreiter. The trio combined for seven points against the Avalanche, with all three scoring breakaway goals in the first period, ending the night of Avalanche starter Semyon Varlamov.

"They want to play on both sides of the puck," Torchetti said of the line, per Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "I think the whole team can learn from that.

"We talk a lot, on the bench, to support each other," Niederreiter added. The winger would score on an empty net in the third to help him and Pominville finish with three-point nights.

"This game was one I think everyone had marked down and wanted to win," Pominville said postgame. "And everyone responded."

Less than a minute before Niederreiter's empty-netter, Charlie Coyle scored his team-leading 21st of the year.

The Wild now have a great chance to pick up another four points with a quick two-game road trip in the East as they'll visit the league-worst Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday before a Saturday visit with the Buffalo Sabres.

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