Dallas Stars Season Became Perfect Children’s Story

The Dallas Stars’ 2015-2016 season ended in whimsical fashion on Saturday night. Come to think of it, the entire year had all the great elements of a fairy tale. Will the playoffs?

We’ve all heard them. Growing up, fairy tales and storybooks were a prime influence in the lives of children. Whether it was Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, you know the story and acknowledge the plot.

But now that you have grown up, it’s clear to see that each tale used a similar basic plot. In fact, it’s almost as if they only changed the character names, location, and significant object. That’s how closely they correlate together.

There was a video on Facebook the other day comparing the movies Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella. The two films, both made by Disney, use some of the exact same scenes, merely changing the appearance of the characters and the setting around them.

All in all, a fairy tale can be broken down into four pieces: introduction of a main character’s personal life, the main character receiving a chance to do something great, a disappointing occurrence leading to a loss of hope, and a wonderful conclusion that involves riding a pumpkin that was turned into a carriage into the sunset. Or something like that.

So what does this have to do with hockey, more specifically the Dallas Stars?

The Dallas Stars are just three short days away from beginning what will hopefully be a long journey into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Stars completed their 2015-2016 regular season on Saturday night, knocking the Nashville Predators out using a Jason Spezza hat trick.

Winning the game meant more than just going out on a high note. With the victory, the Dallas Stars became the only team in the Western Conference to reach 109 points this season. You know what that means? That means that on Saturday night, the Stars were crowned Central Division and Western Conference champions.

This is nothing to take lightly. The Stars fought with a mixture of blood and sweat to get where they are. After starting out the season and ending 2015 as the best team in the league, they struggled throughout the remainder of winter, only to kick March off strong and finish on a high note.

Everything fell into place and the Stars finally gained what they had been aiming at for the past three years: supremacy. The Stars finished the year as the best offensive team in the NHL, scoring an insane average of 3.23 goals per game. The only other team to rise above the 3.00 mark was the Washington Capitals, who sit at 3.02.

Jamie Benn finished with another career year, playing his second full season and scoring 41 goals and a total of 89 points. These are both new records for the 26-year old captain. Meanwhile, Tyler Seguin snapped 33 goals and 73 points in 72 games before going down with a scary, but luckily short term achilles injury. Jason Spezza (33-30-63), John Klingberg (10-48-58), and Patrick Sharp (20-35-55) were also phenomenal in their own areas.

The defense was not superb, but they got the job done and performed much better than they did last year. The Stars’ blue line finished this year in 19th, averaging 2.78 goals given up per game. This is an improvement from 2014-2015, when Dallas finished 26th with an average of 3.13 goals against per game.

The goaltending went from a one-man show to a two-man effort. Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen have struggled in their own respects throughout the season, but neither have flunked at the same time.

Overall, the record of 50-23-9 says it all. The Dallas Stars gave their all, and now they will be rewarded for it with a chance to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

Wait, so what was the significance for the fairy tale analogy at the beginning of this? Well, when taking a step back and looking at the season as a whole, it may as well be put in written form and sent off to a publishing company. Okay, maybe not. But I would read it, and I’m sure I am not the only one who would.

More stars: Stars Surging Into Postseason With No Intentions Of Leaving Early

Think about it, though. The Dallas Stars put together the perfect storybook season. They had an offseason full of lavish pickups, trades, and signings (introduction of the character) that helped round out the club. Throughout the first half of the year, the Stars were the best team in the league and proved it in their performance (chance to do something great).

Then the winter slump came through, and the Stars began to slip (dramatic downfall). Then they finished the year on a dramatic note by beating the Nashville Predators and winning the division and conference, taking the first seed overall going into the postseason. Wonderful.

Next: Stars Have Wild Ride Ahead In Playoffs

But now is their chance to end the last chapter on a high note and complete the fairy tale. The Stars have found the glass slipper after the President’s Trophy ran away at the stroke of midnight. Now they just have to journey through the Stanley Cup Playoffs and finally find the awaiting foot of Lord Stanley herself. Are they up to the challenge? I guess it’s all up to your imagination.