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Dallas Stars Are Capitalizing When People Least Expect It

By Josh Clark |

It is no longer a question. The Dallas Stars are definitely in the playoff hunt. They may have teams to hop and little time to do it, but one thing is for sure: they are not folding anytime soon.

After a successful road trip that saw the Stars go 4-1-0 and climb within five points of the final wild card spot with 13 games remaining in their schedule, it is evident that they still have a chance. Here are the current wild card standings as of Saturday, March 14th:

1. Minnesota Wild 68 GP 81 PTS

2. Los Angeles Kings 67 GP 79 PTS

3. Winnipeg Jets 68 GP 78 PTS

4. San Jose Sharks 68 GP 76 PTS

5. Dallas Stars 69 GP 74 PTS

6. Colorado Avalanche 68 GP 73 PTS

The oddest thing about their spurt is the circumstances they have endured while creating it. The Dallas Stars have gone 5-1-0 in their last six matchups. This includes victories against the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Washington Capitals, all potential playoff teams besides the Hurricanes. Their only loss was to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied for the title of the second best team in the NHL.

The Dallas Stars have produced this winning streak without the help of Trevor Daley, who they lost at the origin of the streak in the first moments of the game against the Islanders. Daley is regarded by most as the Dallas Stars best defenseman and leads all Stars defensemen this season in goals with 16, with six of them coming on the power play. He is the longest tenured member of the blue line and is an exceptional two-way player. Daley was lost around the time that Patrik Nemeth returned from an arm laceration, so he was able to fill the void, but the Stars still lost a key player.

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    • Early on the road trip, the Stars shining rookie defenseman John Klingberg took an awkward tumble against the Lightning. He left the game and was considered day to day. He returned against the Flyers Tuesday evening, but was unnecessarily charged and sidelined again with a day to day upper body injury. Klingberg is considered the Stars first or second best defenseman, and plays the game smart. He leads Stars defensemen with 36 points. He has not played since and Jamie Oleksiak has had to step in. Since the injury, the Stars are 2-0-0.

    The loss of these crucial defensemen has not phased the Stars in the slightest, and they continue to shine without their star blue-liners.

    Also, the Stars entered the Verizon Center on the second leg of a back-to-back Friday night to face the power hungry Washington Capitals. The Stars were 2-7-1 on back-to-backs so far in the season, but proved the masses wrong with a dominating 4-2 win in a game where they completely controlled the tide.

    To add onto all of that, the other teams the Stars are in contention with have been finding ways to win, leaving the Stars little ground to truly gain. But that has not stopped them. While other teams may find this scenario as discouragement and use it to their disadvantage, the Stars have continued to focus on themselves and winning the battles they can control.

    “I think every game is pretty much a must win from here on out for us. I think we’re just playing a good team game. Our goalie is playing great, and we’ve got a lot of guys stepping up at the right time. We did a good job on this road trip, but we’ve got to translate it to home games now.” -Jamie Benn

    So they are winning against some of the top talent in the league without the help of their top blue-liners while still trying to inch towards a playoff spot and only gaining minimal ground as each game passes. Couldn’t this push have been done a long time ago? Like 50 or so games back? I guess not, but cannot complain at this point. All we need to do is hope that they keep the pressure on. A slip up at any point could be crucial. The next chance for a slip up is Sunday against the St. Louis Blues. We’ll hope that it does not happen and that the Stars can keep this streak alive.

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