Dallas Stars Are Lucky NHL Standings Are Not CFB-Based
The Dallas Stars spent Thursday night utterly dominating the Winnipeg Jets. The Central Division rivals met up at the American Airlines Center to throw down in an interdivisional match.
But it is pretty clear which team came out on top. Though they struggled early, the Stars hopped back on the tracks and pummeled the Jets 6-3, including three unanswered goals.
This marked a triumphant comeback win by the Stars as well as their first Central Division win this season. After a disappointing beginning to division play in the 2015-2016 season, the Stars salvaged hope for their fans and their own chances in the standings.
Both of the Stars Central games have ended in 6-3 scores. While one was a win against the Jets, the other was a loss early in the year to the Colorado Avalanche. The first loss to Colorado sent some people into the danger zone, worrying that this could potentially be another year of finishing 8-14-7 or worse in the division.
The Stars can succeed as much as they want outside of the Central. But if they do not learn how to build and hold onto wins against divisional opponents, they will never be able to secure a playoff berth. So with a record of 1-1-0 in Central play, it is still up in the air on what can happen.
But the Dallas Stars still own the best record in the Western Conference. They are boasting a record of 13-4-0 with 26 points and sit tied for second throughout the entire NHL. It’s a good thing that the NHL standings are points-based though. If the NHL were running on an NCAA college football standings format, the Stars may not be in such good shape as of now.
For those of you who don’t know, the NCAA standings are based on who you play and what the outcome is. If the #2 ranked team plays the #10 team and the #10 team comes out on top, they move up in the rankings while the #2 team falls down. This goes on throughout all of the standings in the Top 25.
In other words, the Dallas Stars may be closer to the bottom of the pile in the ranks. This is mainly due to the fact that the Stars have lost to three different teams in their four losses. These three teams are the Toronto Maple Leafs twice, the Florida Panthers, and the Colorado Avalanche.
None of these teams currently possess a playoff spot. The Maple Leafs are 4-8-4, and half of their wins are against Dallas. The Panthers are 6-7-3 and the Avalanche are 6-9-1. All three teams are at least four points out of a playoff spot and are struggling early on this year. The fact that the Stars have lost to these teams does not give them a strong argument in an NCAA standings format. Could you imagine what position the Stars would be in had they been put into NCAA-based rankings?
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Overall, it looks like somewhere between 12th and 15th place would be a reasonable spot for the Stars when you factor in the 13 wins and the four losses to sub-.500 teams. I think third place is a much more enjoyable spot to be in with the current standings.
Furthermore, it is disappointing that the Stars have not been able to cap off these victories, some in which they clearly deserved the win. But nonetheless, the NHL will continue their points and standings format and the Dallas Stars will hopefully continue to benefit from it.
The Stars face their next Central Division test this Saturday when they take on the Minnesota Wild. They will look to go above .500 with their Central Division record for the first time since before the 2014-2015 season began. It will be interesting to see how the game goes, considering Minnesota is the third best team in the Central and only trails Dallas by four points with two games in hand.
Next: Who Said The Dallas Stars Struggle In The Central Division?
Whatever happens, the Dallas Stars are simply happy that they do not have to deal with the NCAA standings protocol. The losses to struggling teams were simply hiccups in an otherwise extremely bright season. We’ll see if they can keep it up.