Dallas Stars Are Playoff Bound, Nowhere Close To Done
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars concluded their season in dramatic fashion last night. Now it is time for the real test, and they look to be ready for the challenge.
Sunday morning. So many wonderful songs have been written throughout history glorifying the day. It’s usually the only day that the majority of people get off of work and take to relax and recharge.
The Dallas Stars will be using it today for just that purpose, while their entire fan base spends the day in euphoric celebration. And rightly so.
The Stars closed turned the final page on their 2015-2016 regular season last night, and did it with as much excitement and pizazz as you would expect from a typical Stars season finale. After stumbling in the first period, the Stars surged through the final 40 minutes and rested on a Jason Spezza hat trick to claim the 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. That’s not all they won though.
The Central Division title was up for grabs on Saturday night, and with it was the Western Conference title as well. While the Dallas Stars held the tiebreaker for the first place spot in the division and conference, the St. Louis Blues were dead knotted alongside Dallas with 107 points going into the final day of the season. Each team had one game to go, and either one could have come out on top.
While the Blues floundered and collapsed, the Stars put on another tremendous season-ending show at home. The Stars clinched both titles in the victory, and will now add two more banners to the long-awaiting rafters.
The Dallas Stars finished the season with an astounding record of 50-23-9 with a whopping 109 points. “I know there wasn’t a lot of people who picked us to be there,” said Stars head coach Lindy Ruff. “To be honest, I didn’t think we could get there ourselves but as the year went on I thought we had a chance.”
Last night’s events also had a hand in determining playoff seeding and opponents. The Dallas Stars were slated to either play the Minnesota Wild or Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, with the Blues taking the other. The victory secured the Stars’ first round to be played against longtime rival, the Minnesota Wild. The Blues meanwhile will be stuck taking on the Hawks.
A couple of playoff matches still need to be decided by tonight’s two games, so we will wait for the results on those two in order to have a complete schedule.
But the Stars are assuredly playing the Wild in the first round, with game one taking place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas this Thursday night. If you are looking for tickets, just go ahead and mosey on over to the Dallas Stars official website. Or Stubhub. Stubhub always works.
“I’m excited. We’ve got a legitimate team with a legitimate chance, and it’s a fun group and we want to keep playing as long as we can together,” Stars center Jason Spezza said. “This is why you play. You start getting longer into your career and realize the chances don’t come all the time, and we’ve got a good chance. You just chip away at it and start with Game 1.”
The Dallas Stars proved once again last night that they are playoff material. They are like the slightly annoying but kindhearted guy that randomly showed up at your party in the spontaneous green sweater and can’t help getting in the way. No one knows exactly how he got there or who invited him, but he’s there. And considering how sweet he is, you aren’t going to ask him to leave. So the question remains: when will he find his way out into the cold and unforgiving offseason? And will he leave with a gift bag?
That’s for the Stars to decide. But they have shown this year that when the chips are down, they are capable of and know how to get stuff done. Their electric offense, improving defense, and sharp goaltending tandem have proven that.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski. “These fans, this city [Dallas], they’ll be up for it. It’s just going to be exciting. The emotions are going to be high to start off on home ice. It’s going to be fun.”
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So what do the intriguing Stanley Cup Playoffs have in store for the Stars this season? If you ask ten different people, you are likely to get ten different answers. So you decide. Where are the Stars going? And are they going to escape with anything special this year?
However you see it, just know that you will more than likely not be able to predict anything correctly. That’s the fun part about the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s a whole new slate, where the regular season is lost between the seat cushions much like loose change and loses all significance. No other sport has implications like this, and the NHL is lucky in that regard.
As Mike Modano said in his congratulatory tweet to the team last night, “Easy part’s over.”
Next: Stars Go Out In Style, Knock Off Preds 3-2
Strap on your knee pads and buckle your helmets, Stars fans. It’s going to be an intense ride. The five-day waiting period will be over before you know it, and then the real fun begins.