But the 24-year-old forward made the most of it, getting stronger, faster and even smarter in hopes of changing his team's fortunes. Shore said a second straight playoff miss helped add fire to his normal plan to simply be the best player he can be.

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"I just try to focus on the day to day," Shore said of his usual strategy. "Try to earn a spot on the team. Try to earn as big a role as you can on the team. Try to help the team win. Just do your best. I think any extra motivation comes from not having a whole lot of success as a team last year."

Shore said he took both team disappointment and the need for personal improvement to a new level this summer. He worked hard on every aspect of his game so that he can have a bigger impact.

In his two NHL seasons, Shore has played all 82 games and put up decent numbers. He started with 14:08 in time on ice and had 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points as a rookie in 2016-17. Last season, he upped his time on ice to 15:26, but didn't see similar increases in his scoring. Shore had 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points.

Shore, who scored his first preseason goal in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to Florida at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said he already feels the impact of his training paying off.

Video: Razor talks offseason, engagement with Devin Shore

"I do feel quicker and bigger and I think that makes a difference in my game," he said. "It feels different out there. I think that helps you create time and space, and that makes the game a little simpler."

Shore also hit the film room. After going a team-worst minus-30 in plus-minus, Shore dissected his performance to see why.

"It bothered me last year a lot," he said. "But I watched every shift of mine from last year over the summer, and I know all of the minuses. I know the ones that were directly my fault and I know the ones where I had no control over it. So I have used it to learn, and I think I have learned."

The irony of Shore's performance is that he was known as a great two-way center in college and the AHL, and his job right now is pretty much to be one of the team's better checkers.

"My goal is to be a complete player," he said. "That's been my brand of hockey for my entire life, and it hasn't changed. I take a lot of pride in my defensive play, and I want to play the right way."

Video: Stars keep building in preseason loss

New Stars coach Jim Montgomery was also a high-scoring center in college and the minors and then had to try to find a different role when he was promoted to the NHL. He said it's not an easy transition.

"It's really hard mentally," Montgomery said. "But if you know that the coaches and your teammates value you having an impact on the game and not necessarily `pointing,' it really helps a player understand."

In fact, Montgomery said Shore's potential for value to the Stars has been very clear already in training camp and preseason.

"I really like his understanding of our puck pressure and I like his puck-possession game," Montgomery said. "He's a guy who values that puck, he doesn't look to get rid of it. He wants to make a play, so a lot of good things to like. He's got to continue to get better in what we're trying to grasp, but I think he's a player that will."

Shore said he feels he's making progress. He said he's trying to build on the confidence he already has established in two NHL seasons.

"My old coach always said there are two ways to be confident. Either you've done it before, or you worked so hard that you've earned the right to be confident," Shore said. "Two full seasons is a lot, and there's only one way to get experience and that's to be there every day.

"Then, add to that I worked my butt off over the summer and I feel I have earned the right to be confident."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.