Dallas Stars Find Positives On Road To Start Series Against Predators

The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators are officially two games into their best-of-seven opening round series. And so far, it’s been a thrilling ride. But for the Stars, the early trip offered them a handful of positives, including picking up a road win.

It’s been five days since the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs kicked off, and we’ve seen a little bit of everything through the first few contests.

We’ve seen the reigning President’s Trophy champion Tampa Bay Lightning drop two consecutive home games to a Columbus Blue Jackets team that barely made the playoffs. We’ve seen the Colorado Avalanche claw back to even their series against the Calgary Flames, who finished the season with the best record in the Western Conference. The New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and St. Louis Blues jumped out to early series leads, while Vegas/San Jose and Toronto/Boston are deadlocked at 1-1.

But we’ve also seen two thrilling contests played out between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. And with the storylines and emotions that carried the two teams into their first-ever playoff matchup, the series has provided a fitting dose of entertainment and has lived up to the hype that was built for it.

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The Stars and Predators started up their opening round series on Wednesday night in Nashville. And for Dallas, it was an intense, almost uphill challenge for a handful of reasons. For one, Bridgestone Arena is known as one of the rowdiest buildings in the NHL, especially when the playoffs come around. That can be a daunting situation for a team that hasn’t played postseason hockey in almost three years.

To add onto that, six different Dallas Stars players had never participated in a Stanley Cup Playoffs game. With the emotions and intensity ramped up, it can take time for inexperienced players to find their usual groove, especially when starting on the road.

And yet, the Stars made it work. After a shaky start, Dallas controlled much of the final two periods of play, scoring three unanswered goals and finishing the game with a 3-2 win. Their second power play unit was dominant, the defense limited Nashville’s chances, Ben Bishop put on a solid performance by stopping 30-32, and Mats Zuccarello scored the game-winning goal.

Everything clicked for the Stars as they stunned both the Predators and the 17,458 fans in attendance. They played their game, played to their strengths, and found a way to dig in against the best team in the Central division.

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The series was then put on hold for two days as the rest of the NHL postseason bracket caught up. It was a chance for the Stars to celebrate their early series lead while also planning for an even more intense game two. And for the Predators, it was an opportunity to assess what went wrong in game one and better prepare for a more important game two.

And on Saturday night, that preparation came through. Nashville controlled the possession and pace for much of the game, kept their fans involved with physicality and energy, and eventually secured a 2-1 win after five minutes of overtime. Meanwhile, the Stars struggled to get their offense churning and went 0-6 on the power play. Bishop was solid in the crease yet again, stopping 41-43, but the Stars weren’t able to do enough to get him a second win.

So, how should one go about assessing this road trip from the Dallas Stars’ perspective? Is there reason to take pride in it? Was game two a critical opportunity lost? How did this first playoff road trip in almost three years go?

Even though recency bias may have people focused on the loss, the fact of the matter is that the Stars took advantage of a critical road trip.

"”You know, I don’t look at the two games; I look at the games individually. We knew we were going to get Nashville’s best, and we did. They were the better team tonight. And if probably not for [Ben] Bishop, we’re not in overtime. So, we’ve got to come back, and we will. We’ll be better.” – Jim Montgomery after Game 2"

Going into game one, the goal was to steal one win at Bridgestone Arena and at least return to the American Airlines Center at a 1-1 tie. And while it would have been nice to continue pushing the tempo and to put the series in a chokehold before flying back to DFW, one win in a tough building against the top team in the division is still an important goal achieved.

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Had the Dallas Stars missed out on both opportunities and headed back to the AAC in a 0-2 hole, there would be plenty of room to panic. The Predators could have all of the momentum going into games 3-4. They could have their fanbase riled up and ready for more. They could feel fully confident in their game and have little worry about heading to Dallas (where they went 2-0-0 this season).

Instead, the Stars picked up a win. They split the series and got to witness a full Nashville attack in game two, which should better prepare and motivate them to strike back in game three.

“We played a really good team over there,” said Stars forward Mats Zuccarello following game two. “If you had asked me before the series if we would take a 1-1 going home, I’ll take it. It’s a good home team. We gave them two good games and now we’re going home to our fans and I like our odds. But it’s going to be a tough one. It’s going to be a hard-fought battle. It’s a hell of a team over there.”

This two-game road trip offered plenty of highlights and high points for the Stars. Bishop looked dominant and confident in the crease. The Dallas penalty kill went a perfect 7-7. The Stars proved that they can match up well physically with the Predators. Their second power play unit created some good chances and even scored the first goal in game one. The defense did a good job at keeping the Nashville offense to the outside of the zone and limiting their opportunities.

Through it all, the Stars got a win. Though it could have been more, one win is what they needed. On a tough road trip in a tough city, the Stars didn’t let their playoff drought affect them. They now have a deadlocked series and a great opportunity to claim the upper hand as they transition back to home ice (where they were 24-14-3 during the regular season).

“We’re going to have the juices going for sure,” Stars forward Tyler Seguin said on Saturday night. “At the end of the day, I thought we played good road hockey here in this quick two-game trip. We’re excited to get home.”

Off to Dallas.