PITTSBURGH -- Lindy Ruff is banging the accountability drum, and he's starting with himself.

The Stars coach Wednesday said he has to step up his game in terms of squeezing the potential out of the best players.

"I have to do a better job," Ruff said. "I have to hold them more accountable. I've let too many guys off the hook."

Ruff used the comparison of performances Monday and Tuesday, and said they reveal a lot about the 9-9-6 Stars. Dallas was sloppy Monday while getting outshot 31-21 in a 4-3 overtime loss in St. Louis. The Stars were much better Tuesday, outshooting Detroit 35-20 in a 3-1 loss.

Ruff said the difference in puck management was night and day between the two games and that players and coaches have to push for consistency.

"It's my job to have the 20 people who play on any given night to play fairly close to how we played last night," Ruff said of the Detroit game. "And if you don't, then I have to hold you accountable."

While Ruff wouldn't address specific players, it's easy to fit John Klingberg into the narrative. The 24-year-old defenseman made some key mistakes Monday and was a healthy scratch on Tuesday, and the Stars as a team played a more responsible brand of hockey.

Will that scratch help Klingberg play better when he returns? Will Ruff keep him out again because the six defensemen played so well?

"I think competition is part of it that makes us all better," Klingberg said. "I think you have to fight for your ice time, and we each have to try to make the other one better."

That's a challenge when two defensemen are scratched every night, but Ruff said everyone has to fight through the temptation to use excuses. The coaches are juggling lineups in hopes of hitting on chemistry, and the players have to deal with that while the search goes on.

"We went through this last year," said Ruff, adding that it's hard to get out of the 1-5-2 and 1-6-0 stretches they endured last January and February. "I think we're struggling and saying, 'There's got to be an easier way.' But there is no easier way. You have to put the work in."

A key to making that work pay off is getting players to work through individual slumps during a team slump. For example: Tyler Seguin hasn't scored a goal in 11 games and is shuffling between center and wing; Jason Spezza is minus-5 in eight games since returning from a lower-body injury; and Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis are dealing with healthy scratches. So the dynamics of individuals and coaches getting on the same page is complicated by how each side views the solution.

"It's a team thing. To make the team better, you have to look at yourself in the mirror," said Hamhuis, who joined the Stars as a free agent in the summer. "It's easy in a situation like this to complain or be upset or feel sorry for yourself or blame the coach, but I think the way to get out of it is to try to see positives [and] build on positives."

Ruff said demanding accountability is a positive, although he has to pick his spots.

"During the game, I stay away from negativity. If you're going to harp on the negative on the bench, it's a bad place to put the players," he said. "But I have to deal with the negative after the game, and sometimes the player's vision of how they played is a lot different than mine. That vision has to get a lot closer."

The coach said it's his job to bring those visions together.

"When I get my top guys on the right side, then we will win games on a consistent basis," Ruff said. "I'm looking at the job I've been doing, and it hasn't been good enough because the guys I take so much pride in aren't on the right side for me, and that bothers me."