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A Dallas Stars Playoff Run? Not Probable, But Technically Still Possible

By Josh Clark

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The Dallas Stars collided with the Metropolitan Division’s best New York Islanders Tuesday night, and the implausible happened. After controlling a third period for what seems like the first time this season, then falling apart with 1.1 seconds left, to scoring a beautiful overtime game winner, it was a crazy night at the American Airlines Center.

With the Dallas Stars’ amazing 3-2 win, they gained two points in a game for the first time in two weeks. That win did not help them much in the standings besides keeping them submerged.

They still sit nine points out of the final wild card spot, now with eighteen games to go. With the win, the Stars shift one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche into fifth place in the wild card race. The Avalanche did not play Tuesday, but have a date scheduled with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Wednesday night.

The Stars are now six points behind the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings, the two teams in between them and the wild card positions. Here are the standings at the moment:

1. Winnipeg Jets 64 GP 76 PTS

2. Minnesota Wild 63 GP 75 PTS

3. Los Angeles Kings 63 GP 72 PTS

4. San Jose Sharks 65 GP 72 PTS

5. Dallas Stars 64 GP 66 PTS

6. Colorado Avalanche 63 GP 65 PTS

Now, this is not one of the peppiest articles, because at this point it is not likely the Dallas Stars will make the playoffs. They have squandered away too many leads and points this season, and now it is a bit too late to turn the tide and charge back. They will not only need to go on a magical winning streak (not to mention their next five being on the road), but they will also need to see the teams in front of them drop a few and fall back so they can surge ahead.

“We still believe and even before this game we are still trying to make the playoffs. Just because they are trading one guy doesn’t mean we are packing it in, and everybody is sending their families postcards and not going to work hard. We have to come with our lunch pails and be ready to work our butts off and at the end of the year we see what happens.” -Vernon Fiddler

But just when you gain the slightest glimpse of hope, more bad news seems to pile on. Trevor Daley, the Dallas Stars top defenseman, could be out “weeks” according to Lindy Ruff, after a cheap knee-to-knee collision induced by Matt Martin early in Tuesday night’s contest. So another top Star goes down at the hands of a suspension-needing play. Great help to the overall chances for the postseason, right?

With Tyler Seguin 7-10 days away from a return according to Daryl Reaugh, the Stars will have to continue to manage on the offensive and defensive side of the puck without their best players in both arsenals.

At this point, the Stars have about a 15% chance of qualifying for the postseason. Not very good odds, but they are not MATHEMATICALLY eliminated yet, so why not entertain y’all a little on Wednesday morning? It probably won’t happen, especially with the injuries, but it was a fun run to get where we are. But, if this Dallas Stars team has learned how to do anything this season, it is how to surprise us in the most outrageous scenario when we least expect it. Sadly, they are not entirely in control of their own fate anymore. But we’ll see what happens.

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