Dallas Stars Have Wild Ride Ahead In Playoffs

The Dallas Stars are playoff bound, y’all, and it’s about to be a Wild ride.

Well, let me first officially welcome all of you wonderful people to playoff life. Our Western Conference, Central Division winning Dallas Stars made it farther than we were sometimes willing to believe for. But now this half of the heavy lifting is done and it’s time for, well, more heavy lifting. And heavier heavy lifting at that.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Stars will face the Minnesota Wild, a team which they have both beaten and collapsed against. Let’s look at some of the Stars’ past strengths and downfalls in their season series against the Wild.

The first meeting of the Stars and Wild was way back in mid November (before we’d been traumatized with the horrors of January). The outcome of this contest was 3-2 score in overtime, with a goal from John Klingberg, who had a predominately offensive game, to seal the deal. Kari Lehtonen was the goalie on duty that night, as the Stars beat out Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk and outdid the Wild in creating chances on net and taking advantage of open lanes.

The next clash of these Central division foes came later that month and ended yet again in overtime, with the Stars as the conquering victors with a 4-3 score. In this game, the Dallas Stars put a little of that comeback power into action, rallying back from a three goal deficit in the third period with the help of Alex Goligoski, Jamie Benn (who notched a shorty), Klingberg, and Tyler Seguin deep into overtime. The key that night was puck possession, and the Stars won that battle.

At the end of December, the Dallas Stars were still riding a hot streak when they took the next contest to Minnesota. This one ended in regulation, with a 6-3 win for the Stars with Niemi in net. Although the Wild scored the first two, the Stars jumped right back in with several even strength goals, a power play goal, and two empty netters to put the nail in the coffin.

The Stars’ first meeting with the Wild in January fell a different way. Due poor puck handling and lack of push on the Stars’ part, the Wild took that one home 2-1. In between good play by Devan Dubnyk and a Klingberg goal disallowed, the Stars were starting to feel their January woes sink in, but thankfully, they weren’t there to stay.

In early February, the Stars regrouped against the Wild and pulled out another overtime win with a score of 4-3. Yet again, Klingberg was the hero of the day in three-on-three, but Kari Lehtonen also showed up in a big way to keep the Wild subdued. Goligoski, Patrick Eaves, and Jason Demers also lit the lamp to put the Stars back on top and end the season series in the Dallas Stars’ favor.

So what are the common threads here? First of all, exhaustion doesn’t look good on the Stars. For whatever reason, January was their month of burnout, and it showed against most of the teams they took on, Minnesota included. The Stars have to remain calm, cool, collected, and rested if they want to succeed in this first round against the Wild

In all of the Stars’ wins against the Wild, there is one common denominator: highly focused two-way play. Having multiple defensemen who don’t pass up scoring opportunities is one of the Stars’ strengths, and when they use it, they soar.

Despite Demers’ absence and Klingberg’s fade coming down the stretch at the end of the season, the Stars were able to keep their heads above water by utilizing offensive scoring depth. But something just lights up the right way for the Stars when everybody gets in on the action, and the Wild can attest to that.

Next: Dallas Stars' Playoff Pros, Cons

So, my tips for the Dallas Stars going into a round against the Wild? Don’t psych yourself out- this can be an easy first round if you make an effort to show up to each game fresh, incorporate the whole team in scoring chances, and for heaven’s sake, don’t overthink it.

What would you suggest to the Stars heading into this first playoff round?