Dallas Stars Final Round: Top Game Of Year: EDM vs. NSH

Today, Blackout Dallas will be finishing up a series for a second year. It was meant to start up at the beginning of July but with the NHL offseason mess, it had to wait. But now that there is a bit of down time, now was the time to start it up!

We have made a bracket, one like you would see for the NBA or NHL playoffs, of the 16 best games of the Dallas Stars 2014-2015 regular season. We’re sure you will agree entirely with the 16 games that have been chosen, and if not, then just play along and comment at the end with which one you feel should have been given a chance.

So, we have put a poll up over the past 15 days featuring two of the games going head-to-head, with a brief argument for why it should be considered. Then, you can go to the bottom and vote on which one you think deserves to be crowned champion. The poll will expire three days after it is put up. At the end of the Sweet 16, we announced the winners of the round and started the Elite 8, and so on and so forth. This is our second year to do this. Last season we received a good reaction from the readers, so we are going to do it for the second straight year.

Rounds one, two, and three are officially in the books, and the two games have moved on to the championship. The final round is set and ready to go, and we will start it today.

The final two games are: Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers on December 21st VS. Nashville Predators @ Dallas Stars on April 11th

Dallas Stars @ Edmonton Oilers, 6-5 F (SO):

Arguably the best game of the Dallas Stars entire season, this one most assuredly had to make the cut. It was just four days before Christmas and the Stars were finishing up their three-game Western Canada road swing. Riding a three game winning streak on their way to play the last place team in the Western Conference, they certainly had high expectations.

But somehow their expectations were not met, at least not immediately. In an early 5:00 PM matchup, the Oilers struck first. After falling behind 1-0, the Stars powered ahead and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. All seemed okay until the second period began and the Oilers went on a three goal tear. These three goals were dropped on the Stars in a matter of 9:19, leaving them stranded in a 4-2 hole.

The decision was made after the fourth goal to pull Kari Lehtonen from the crease in exchange for Anders Lindback, who had just returned from a trip to the AHL to “find himself.” In other words, there was not much hope for a Stars victory. A quick goal from Taylor Hall to make it 5-2 didn’t help either.

With 20.5 seconds remaining in the second, Stars captain Jamie Benn scored a power play goal to bring it within two shots. The third period was where Tyler Seguin took control. Seguin scored two goals in the first 9:13 to tie things up and take it to overtime. Eventually, the shootout came along and eight rounds later, the former Oiler Shawn Horcoff ended it. Lindback earned his first NHL win of the season and the Stars erased a three goal deficit to win it in a shootout and give their fans an early Christmas present.

Nashville Predators @ Dallas Stars, 4-1 F:

There probably isn’t much hope for the Pittsburgh game in this match. To be fair, there may not be a chance for any game that goes up against Game #82 for the Dallas Stars this past year.

Though the Stars were already out of playoff contention and the Predators had already clenched a spot, there was still much to be played for in Dallas. Within the past four games leading up to Fan Appreciation Night, Jamie Benn had himself on a tear. Scoring eight points since April 3rd, he had surprisingly gotten himself into the conversation for the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the league leader in points at the end of the regular season.

As the final game began, Benn found himself with 83 points, down only one to the leaders Sidney Crosby and John Tavares. At the end of the first period, Benn had scored two goals and held a one-point lead on the other two in the race. Crosby’s game ended early, and he finished the year at 84 points.

As the third period began, new information began to circulate through the American Airlines Center. John Tavares had scored a goal and tallied an assist in a shootout loss to the Blue Jackets, ultimately pinning Tavares at 86 points, one ahead of Benn.

With just 2:05 remaining, Benn sent an almost full-ice shot into the empty net to give the Stars a 3-1 lead and secure the victory in their final game. But it wasn’t about the win. After people had a few moments to look up the tiebreaker considering Tavares and Benn were knotted at 86, the sad reality sunk in. The tiebreaker turned out to be whichever player had more goals, which Tavares led by a good amount. Not many had hope, but the Dallas Stars had other plans.

With around 15 seconds to go, the Predators had their goaltender back in the net. Benn took a hopeful shot from the point, only for it to be saved by Preds goalie Carter Hutton. Nashville regained possession of the puck and went for the clear to end the attack. Jamie Benn skated into the best position possible and almost magically deflected the puck off his shin and perfectly down the boards to the awaiting Trevor Daley. Daley fed it over to Cody Eakin in front, who cashed in for the fourth goal of the game, giving Benn the secondary assist and clenching the Art Ross Trophy with just 8.5 seconds remaining.

The Stars put on a show for their fans in the final game of their season, with the Captain leading the charge as the main character.

Now that you have been refreshed somewhat on the games, it’s time for you to let your voice be heard. Vote below on which game you think was the more entertaining. The poll will deactivate in three days and the winning game will be crowned champion. Apologies to anyone using the mobile app as it does not currently support our polls. But we encourage you to find us online or through social media and vote there!

The Stars had some memorable games this past season, but which one was the most memorable? You can help make this decision by casting your vote down below.

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