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It Is Do Or Die Time For The Dallas Stars Starting Thursday

By Josh Clark |

The Dallas Stars enter Thursday with the odds entirely against them. While they are still mathematically alive in the playoff race, it looks like it may be too late to make a run, unless everything can go near perfect.

Here is a look at the standings as of Thursday, March 19th:

1. Minnesota Wild 70 GP 85 PTS

2. Winnipeg Jets 70 GP 82 PTS

3. Calgary Flames 70 GP 81 PTS

4. San Jose Sharks 70 GP 76 PTS

5. Colorado Avalanche 69 GP 75 PTS

6. Dallas Stars 70 GP 74 PTS

The Avalanche play tonight against the Arizona Coyotes, one of the worst teams in the league. With the goaltending they have been experiencing, it should be an easy victory for them.

The Sharks also play tonight, facing off with the Toronto Maple Leafs, another team already wiped from playoff contention. So, in other words, a rather easy victory presumably awaits.

The Calgary Flames take on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight. The Flyers are still faintly fighting in the wild card race in the East, but have won only one of their last five games. The Flames will be looking to take revenge on the Kings, who knocked them from the third place spot in the Pacific Division on Tuesday night.

The Winnipeg Jets will face off with the St. Louis Blues who have won four of their last five and are tied for the best record in the NHL. The Jets need a win to keep their wild card spot from being challenged, and they seem to be fine in tight and critical situations over the past few games.

The Minnesota Wild take on the Washington Capitals who are still scrapping to keep their first place spot in the wild card unsuited. The Wild seem all but guaranteed a wild card spot, and it looks like a loss would not do much to them, though they may have forgotten what a loss is at this point.

That leaves the Dallas Stars, who will battle a Pittsburgh Penguins team tonight. A loss may as well knock their playoff hopes down for the count. The Penguins have lost three straight and will obviously be chomping at the bit for a win against the Dallas Stars, who seem to have lost the capability to win at home. A home record of 13-14-8 is not the ideal scenario to be faced with when facing off against one of the Eastern Conference’s best.

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    • So the Dallas Stars have 12 games remaining in their season, leaving them a possibility of finishing the year at 98 points, seven more than they finished with last year when they qualified for the postseason. The other teams in contention have not done the Stars any favors over the past few weeks and do not look like they will be granting the Stars anything for the rest of the season. So oddly enough, 98 points may not even be enough to crack the top eight.

    If the Dallas Stars can pull off a near miracle and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, AND Buffalo Sabres at home before heading back on the road, they could find themselves as close as two points out of the wild card with nine games remaining on Wednesday morning. Lose one, and the Stars could be as far back as 16 points and nothing more than a thing of the past by Wednesday.

    But the Dallas Stars must focus on themselves, their depressing home record, and a way to improve it before it is too late. One loss would turn out to be crucial, so they will most definitely need a win Thursday night. We’ll see if that can happen. Be prepared, Stars fans. Thursday may be the last time you have confidence in the Dallas Stars until next season. It all depends on how they perform. Before they can worry about other teams, they must worry about themselves. That worrying starts Thursday night and cannot end until April 11th, and possibly beyond.

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