Dallas Stars: Top 10 Playoff Games Of The Past Five Years
By Josh Clark
6. Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks, Game 3, April 21, 2014
Rewind three years and we’re back to the heyday (sort of) of the Dallas Stars.
After five years of no postseason action, the Stars finally broke their curse in 2014. In the first year with Jim Nill in the GM chair, Lindy Ruff behind the bench, and Tyler Seguin in Victory Green, the Stars claimed the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
They were matched up against the Anaheim Ducks, who had just won the Pacific Division. No one really gave the Stars a chance, and for good reason. Though Dallas outplayed the Ducks in games one and two, their lack of experience on the big stage gave Anaheim the advantage and helped them jump up 2-0 in the series.
The slate shifted to Dallas for two games, and the Stars took full advantage. In game three, they capped off a 3-0 victory over the Ducks and sparked a fierce hatred towards the Ducks (specifically Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry) for Stars fans.
Jamie Benn, Valeri Nichushkin, and Ryan Garbutt all scored in the 3-0 routing and Kari Lehtonen led the charge with a 37-save shutout for the first shutout of his career in the playoffs.
This win helped recharge hope in Big D that the Stars might still have a chance to do the “impossible” and push past the first round.