Stars' mini-slump coming at the worst possible time

The Dallas Stars let one get away on Wednesday night.

After falling behind 2-0 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the club rallied to snag a two-goal lead and a separate one-goal lead, before conceding the game-tying goal with 15 seconds left in regulation and ultimately falling in the shootout 6-5.

The game marked the club's fifth loss in their last six games and with just over three weeks left in the regular season, the slump couldn't be coming at worse time.

During the Stars' mini slump, the club has fallen out of third place in the Central Division and now sits precariously in the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

The Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames both sit just outside the playoff picture, at 82 and 80 points, respectively.

The Stars' spate of losses has no doubt been precipitated by the loss of No. 1 goaltender Ben Bishop, who went down with injury against the Ottawa Senators. Bishop has now missed the last five games, and it was that March 5 game versus the Sens that marked the first loss of the team's current slide.

In his absence, Kari Lehtonen has been tasked with holding down the fort and he's had mediocre results in relief. He's gone 1-3-2 with a .904 save percentage and 2.82 GAA. The Stars' offense hasn't given him much support, however, having scored just 12 goals in those six games.

Bishop did skate on Wednesday - though he did not take part in practice - so his return should be imminent.

Despite the Stars having the benefit of more regulation and overtime wins than the Ducks and Flames, if they don't right the ship - and soon - they may find themselves on the outside looking in as the wild-card race winds down.

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