DENVER -- Misery, it appears, does not love company after all.
Well, at least not on a hockey rink.
The Stars are struggling in 2016-17 and hit the 25-game mark of the season at 9-10-6. Behind the overall disappointment, individuals are dealing with their own problems, and that can set up a dynamic that's toxic.
So how do the Stars bind together and get their team floating again? Well, that's tricky. Players in peril often look for teammates to throw life preservers to each other, and that's pretty hard if everyone is drowning.
One theory is that the bunker mentality of shared adversity can toughen the group as a whole, but the players say they'd rather rely on positivity and not dwell on the bad things.