The Stanley Cup Playoff race is still in full swing, but things are slowly starting to sort themselves out. For the Dallas Stars, it’s not looking good.
Mathematically eliminated: two words that all sports fans hate to hear, especially when it has to do with their favorite team.
When your team is down and things just aren’t going right, it’s only a matter of time before this phrase becomes a reality for them. Everyone wants to go to the postseason, but the sad truth is that only a select few deemed the most prepared get to embark on the journey. For everyone else, it’s a long offseason.
And for the Dallas Stars, it looks as though it’s going to be one of those “long offseason” years.
Tonight, the Stars will travel to Washington to take on the Capitals, who currently own the best record in the NHL and are undefeated at home in the 2017 calendar year with 15 straight wins.
Dallas Stars
Whether they win this game or not, their playoff chances will remain on life support. Going into Monday night’s game, the Dallas Stars have a .628 percent chance of making the postseason. They are currently 26-29-10 with 62 points and only have 17 games to make ends meet.
They sit in twelfth place in the Western Conference and are in last place among teams currently still in the playoff mix. There are seven points and a game out of hand separating them from the St. Louis Blues, who currently own the final wild card spot in the West. They are also eleven points out of third in the Central Division. With only 34 points left on the table, that puts things into perspective.
Even if the Stars won out the rest of their season and set an NHL record with 18 straight wins, they would finish the season at 96 points. That would probably be enough to get them the final wild card spot and may even be enough for third place in the division. But that would only be based on how the other teams around them perform.
That’s asking an awful lot of a team that doesn’t have a win streak stretching past three games so far. Not to mention that the Stars will have to monitor the four other teams ahead of them that are also battling for the last spot.
It’s a difficult situation and will require a significant amount of grit and firepower.
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I’m a firm believer that it’s not over until it’s over. Though things seem bleak, there is still an opportunity to mount a comeback. Some people may have labeled this season a bust and are already looking towards the draft and free agency. Others might still be hanging onto hope of a Stanley Cup playoff berth.
Whatever side you currently sit on, just know that the Dallas Stars are not “mathematically eliminated.” It may seem like it and the road may seem too difficult to travel, but the possibility is still there for a resurgence.
“It’s the NHL,” said Radek Faksa back on Feb. 18. “We know that anything can happen. We were winning 6-3 in New York and we almost lost the game. I believe in comebacks in this league because anything can happen here and we will believe until the last second.”
There’s still a chance, no matter what anyone says.
“The leaders in this room, they haven’t quit,” Devin Shore told me before the Stars game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last month. “I don’t think anyone in this locker room has quit. It’s never easy and adversity can sometimes bring a team together. All you can do is keep that belief alive and work harder and work on things that you can change.”
Next: Remi Elie's Debut Can Teach The Stars A Few Things
Though it seems as though the Stars are taking one step forward and two steps back as the games pass along, they aren’t down for the count yet. Tonight’s game will tell a lot about this team and how they handle adversity on a big stage. All we can do is wait and watch. It all starts at 6:30 on NBCSN.