Dallas Stars 2015: A Whimsical Year In Review

As more and more 2015 calendars find their way to the garbage can today, it’s important to reflect on the 2015 year as a whole. Specifically in regards to the Dallas Stars and what an excellent year it was for them.

Before you start reading, I want you to take a deep breath and a step back. Just look at what’s happened. Since January 1, 2015, there’s a good bet that a lot of things have occurred in your life.

Whether they were good things or bad things, each and every little shift changed you into an entirely different person. Such is life.

More than likely on your list of 2015 positives is that NHL team that was never supposed to embed hockey in the south. That team is the Dallas Stars, and they put together a wonderful 2015 year. From the front office making moves to the players on the ice both young and old, the Stars managed to make everything click and came out with one heck of a year.

Rewind to December 31, 2014. The Dallas Stars had just finished cruising to a 6-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes and were on their way to enjoy some New Year’s Eve festivities. The win was their 17th of the season and officially pushed them to 39 points. It also put them just four points back of a wild card spot in the postseason.

As a whole, the 2014-2015 season had been a rather unforgiving one to Dallas. The Stars received a lot of hype and were even labeled as Stanley Cup contenders by some. But they just could not live up to the standards that had been unfairly set for them.

The defense was young and riddled with errors, the offense took a little while to adjust before eventually becoming the second best in the league. The search for consistency in the crease was one that lasted all the way until the offseason. Kari Lehtonen could never seem to string together two decent performances, and the Stars burnt through three backup goalies throughout the season. Their special teams were nothing to get excited over, either.

Overall, it was a disaster from the first puck drop against Chicago on October 9th, 2014. The Stars had a semi-decent stretch through October before going on a seven-game winless streak that carried over into mid-November. This losing streak would be what put them behind the eight-ball for good in regards to playoff hopes, as the Stars continued to chase wild card dreams for the rest of the season.

They were plagued with injuries as well. Throughout the season as a whole, names like Valeri Nichushkin, Trevor Daley, Ales Hemsky, Patrick Eaves, and even superstar sniper Tyler Seguin missed exponential amounts of time.

2014 just was not meant for the Dallas Stars, which also means that the early part of 2015 would not be gracious to them either. With a bad start in 2014, why would 2015 all of a sudden pick them up and dust them off for free? It was difficult to watch the final half of the season with little hope.

But does that mean that they hung up their skates and quit? Not in the slightest.

The Stars continued to fight throughout the first four months of 2015 and put on a real show for their fans. Though they never seemed to get any closer to a playoff spot, they never gave up. As a result, they finished the 2014-2015 season with a record of 24-17-5 from January 1st to April 11th. This was one of the best records in the entire NHL to close out the year. After stringing together a 10-5-0 record in March, the Stars looked like they may have a sliver of playoff hope.

But a loss to the St. Louis Blues on April 3rd would be the final nail in the coffin. The Stars would continue to battle and win the final four games of their season, but it would be to no avail. On April 6th, 2015, the Dallas Stars were officially eliminated from the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. But on April 11th in the final game of the season, Jamie Benn put on a miraculous performance and clenched his first ever Art Ross Trophy. This can be considered the tip of the 2015 iceberg.

On exit interview day, the unanimity of all the Stars players was that a fast start was crucial in October 2015.

The offseason rolled along and GM Jim Nill was once again on the horse, owning every trade and building up the Stars even more with each deal made.

He brought in veteran G Antti Niemi to help solidify the crease and create competition. F Patrick Sharp also came over in a trade with Chicago to improve the power play and add a scoring punch on the wings. D Johnny Oduya was the final addition, and he was expected to add a veteran perspective to an otherwise primarily young blue line.

These additions somehow turned out to be exactly what the Dallas Stars needed. The Stars started their season with a record of 1-1-0 and a 0 goal differential. But from then on, it’s been pedal to the floor and no looking back.

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The Stars have been better offensively, defensively, and in the crease. Jamie Benn currently leads the league in goals and is second in total points. Tyler Seguin is tied for second in goals and is third place in total points. The Stars defense has brought them down in the goals against category from 26th to 13th. Also, the average save percentage for Stars goalies last season was .881. This season, Lehtonen and Niemi have it at .915.

The power play is currently in fourth place, scoring 23.4 percent of the time. The penalty kill is in 13th at 80.9 percent. To put it plainly, everything is going right.

They are 28-8-3 so far this season, which puts them above all the rest. When you add 2015 up, the Dallas Stars finished the 365 days off with a 52-25-8 record. How does that sound?

The Stars have 20 more points than they did last year at this point in the season. They are atop the NHL and showing signs of being a team poised to make a long run in the postseason. The players are all succeeding, the team is blossoming as a whole, and Dallas Stars fans could not be any happier about it.

Next: What Did He Say? Stars Quotes After 5-1 Win Over Predators

Welcome to 2016, Dallas Stars fans. It was quite the year for the Stars. Will 2016 bring even more surprises? Stay tuned. Enjoy your New Year, Stars fans. Let’s hope it’s as good to you as 2015 was to Dallas. Alright 2016, give them your best shot.