Dallas Stars: Top 10 Playoff Games Of The Past Five Years

The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and the Dallas Stars are playing the role of viewers. Instead of dwelling on the poor present, let’s take a look at some of the most exciting playoff games from the recent past.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always an exciting time of year for hockey fans everywhere. Your favorite team doesn’t even have to be involved for the postseason to be a thrilling and energized part of the year. In some cases, it’s more convenient to not have to worry about your team being eliminated. But then again, it’s not.

Unfortunately for the Dallas Stars, they’re on the outside looking in for the second time in the past four years. Only this past season was not like any in recent memory.

The Stars finished the 2016-17 year with a lousy record of 34-37-11 with 79 points, making it the second worst season in franchise history. They could never seem to get it going. Injuries combined with a young defense, a failing goaltending duo, and a lack of special teams success contributed to their ultimate demise and 30 point drop-off from 2015-16.

This finish gave Dallas quite the grocery list to deal with this coming offseason. The first big point on that list was crossed off on Thursday morning when the Stars announced the hiring of Ken Hitchcock as their next head coach.

Dallas Stars

Other points that could be lingering on that list are a young goaltender capable of being a franchise starter, a top-two defenseman, and maybe a powerful right-winger that could match well with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the top line.

But all of those moves cannot realistically be made until the playoffs are over and everyone has ceased playing. That gives all 30 teams a chance to examine their rosters and begin making decisions and calls.

Until that time arrives, the Dallas Stars have some downtime to deal with. Considering the first round of the playoffs are just now getting underway, the Stars still have a little less than two months before a new champion is crowned.

So what are Stars fans supposed to do? Sit around and speculate on all of the moves that the Dallas Stars might make this offseason?

Well, yes. The only problem is that we have all been doing that for months now. It’s getting old and it’s gotten to the point where we’ve resorted to waiting instead of continuous guessing.

Instead of speculating, why not reminisce on some happy memories from the past?

In April 2014, the Dallas Stars broke a five-year playoff drought and punched their ticket to the 2014 postseason. Including that year, they have made two playoff appearances over the past four years. Within the span, they have played 19 total playoff games against three different opponents.

Here is a breakdown of the ten best Dallas Stars’ playoff games over the past four seasons. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

10. Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 5, April 22, 2016

The series looked all but over. The Dallas Stars had won their first two games on home ice and split the series on the road in Minnesota and came home with a commanding 3-1 lead. Besides one little slip-up in game three, Dallas had controlled the series and set the tempo.

The Wild looked all but out in the Western Conference quarterfinals against a Dallas team that had outmatched them in just about every meeting throughout the 2015-16 season. All signs pointed to the Stars ending it on home ice in game five.

But that didn’t happen, and the Stars were forced to go back up north to finish the series in six games. Even though game five didn’t live up to the overall expectations, it was still a load of fun.

Not only did Dallas rally from a 2-0 and 3-2 deficit, but they even took a 4-3 lead at one point. This game was filled with raw emotion and it was hard not to buy in fully over the final 30 minutes or so.

With a snipe from Johnny Oduya, a slick goal up front by Jamie Benn, a turnaround wrister from Jason Spezza, and a blast from Alex Goligoski, the game was filled with everything you could ever want (besides better goaltending from Antti Niemi). Even if the Stars came up empty-handed, it was still a fun one to watch. And Dallas ended up winning the series, so no harm done, right?

9. Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4, April 20, 2016

Let’s go back to the days of winning, shall we?

Just two days before the enthralling game five in Big D, the Dallas Stars were finishing up their two-game set in Minnesota. They squandered away a chance at going for the sweep by giving up game three in the late moments. So game four was pivotal. Either Dallas would walk away one win from clinching or Minnesota would tie the series up at 2-2.

The Stars fell behind early in the game but came back on two separate occasions over the 60-minute span. All five goals scored in the game were tallied in the second period, leaving the other 40 minutes to be nothing more than a back-and-forth affair with no results. But those 20 minutes meant everything.

Ales Hemsky scored his first playoff goal as a Star, Patrick Eaves put a crafty deflection in, and Jason Spezza tipped one in off of his skate to give Dallas a 3-2 advantage that they carried to the end of the game and back to Dallas with them.

Though it wasn’t as exciting or riveting as some of the other Dallas Stars’ playoff games of last year or 2014, it was a necessary game that gave Dallas a strong advantage.

8. Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 1, April 14, 2016

It was finally playoff time again in Dallas. The Dallas Stars had secured first place overall in the Western Conference and were set to take on the second wild card team which happened to be the Minnesota Wild, one of their Central Division rivals. What a time to be alive.

The Stars welcomed in a crippled and short-staffed Wild team that was missing Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, and Erik Haula from the lineup. Needless to say, the Stars had no mercy on the former home of their franchise.

Radek Faksa tallied his first career playoff goal and got the Stars on the board after 16 consecutive shots were turned aside by Devan Dubnyk. Following that, Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves, and Jamie Benn all found the back of the net for a 4-0 routing.

Dallas ended up outshooting the Wild 32-22 and dominated for the entire game. It was Kari Lehtonen‘s second career playoff shutout as well.

This game helped springboard the Stars into a series advantage that they never surrendered and helped give them the confidence to power through the rest of the quarterfinals.

What a lovely way to kick off the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

7. Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, Game 1, April 29, 2016

After dominating the majority of the first round, the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference semifinals to take on the St. Louis Blues.

While the Stars had downed the struggling Wild and had no trouble with it, the Blues had barely escaped the Chicago Blackhawks in a seven-game set. St. Louis almost coughed up the series after leading 3-1, but came up big in game seven to claim the series.

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Going into the second round, not many people expected the Stars to come out of it alive. The general presupposition was that St. Louis was bigger, stronger, and more skilled on defense. The typical prediction was that the Stars would last six or seven games.

But after game one, those predictions might have changed. That’s because the Stars climbed out of game one with a powerful and impressive 2-1 victory. It seemed as though the Blues had put everything they had into the game and still couldn’t come up with the win.

Brian Elliott had a stellar outing but was outdone by Kari Lehtonen. The Stars’ received quality depth scoring from Antoine Roussel and Radek Faksa and their defense held the line.

It was hard to argue against the Stars’ preparedness and effort in game one. Though the series wouldn’t pan out the way they wanted it to, Dallas definitely got off on the right foot in the Central Division championship.

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.

5. Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 2, April 16, 2016

Coming off of the heels of an excellent and entertaining game one between the Stars and Wild, game two promised to be just as exciting (as long as you were a Stars fan).

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Dallas already owned a 1-0 series advantage after routing the Wild 4-0 and had the promise of Tyler Seguin returning to the lineup for game two. It would end up being the only playoff game that Seguin would partake in during the Stars’ run, but it was nice to see him on the ice.

This game was a weird one. Antoine Roussel scored one of the weirdest goals you will ever see to start the game off. The puck was sent behind the net where Roussel was standing and happened to deflect off of his skate.

When the puck hit his skate, it became air bound and ended up floating over the back of the net and resting on the back of Devan Dubnyk, who was hugging the post. Dubnyk, in a state of panic, pushed backwards into the net while searching for the puck. It was determined that it was a legal goal and gave the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Jamie Benn would score on the breakaway in the third to take the 2-0 lead, and his goal would prove to be the game winner. With 7:18 to go in game two, the Wild scored their first goal of the series.

The game went down to the wire, but Dallas emerged victorious in a 2-1 decision and carried a 2-0 series advantage to Minnesota with them.

4. Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks, Game 4, April 23, 2014

Following a riveting game three (see slide six for more information), the fourth game of the Stars-Ducks series kicked off on April 23.

For the Stars, it was a must-win. Going down 3-1 in the series and heading back to Anaheim would almost assuredly doom Dallas. If they could pull off the win, they would even the series at 2-2 and head back to Anaheim with plenty of momentum in their corner.

The game did not start off in the Stars’ favor whatsoever. They gave up two quick goals and were in a 0-2 hole after the first 20 minutes.

But something happened in that first intermission that turned it all around. Over the final 40 minutes, the Stars would score four unanswered goals and claim the 4-2 victory in dramatic fashion.

It was a game of firsts. Vernon Fiddler, Cody Eakin, and Alex Goligoski all scored the first goals of the playoffs. It was also their first career playoff goals with the Stars.

Not to mention Jamie Benn’s third career playoff goal on a beauty of a shot and Antoine Roussel’s scrap with Corey Perry. With all of this combined together, the night could not have gotten much better.

2. Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, Game 6, May 9, 2016

Just two weeks after eliminating the Minnesota Wild, the Stars themselves faced elimination on the road at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.

It wasn’t an easy position to be in. The Blues were hot at home and the Stars were coming off of a demoralizing loss in Big D in game five.

Everything was lining up perfectly for the Blues until Kari Lehtonen decided to say something.

The Big Finn stopped 35 of 37 at the Scottrade Center and helped the Stars stay afloat after a hot start gave them a 3-0 lead. Goals from Janmark, Fiddler, and Spezza also contributed to chasing Brian Elliott out of net in the first period.

This was definitely a riveting game that had Stars fans on the edge of their seats. Nothing like a little confidence to push Dallas back into contention (though it was only for two more days).

1. Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, Game 4, May 5, 2016

Over the past four years, the Dallas Stars have won a total of nine playoff games. These wins and one thrilling overtime loss have helped make up this top ten list.

There may be some debate on where each game deserves to land on this list, but there is one common theme: they were all exciting in some form.

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But out of all of the wins and overtime losses, game four of the Stars-Blues series takes the cake. While game six was close in the race, it could not entirely match the raw emotion that game four offered.

The Dallas Stars entered game four in St. Louis following a brutal 6-1 loss in game three and were in danger of falling down 3-1 in the series.

An early goal gave the Blues the advantage, putting Dallas in an even tighter position. But after a takeaway and goal by Radek Faksa and a power play goal by Patrick Sharp, the Stars turned the table and took the 2-1 lead midway through the game. St. Louis was quick to respond with a goal of their own to tie the game up.

The third period went scoreless and the game advanced to overtime. After a heart-stopping shift in the Dallas zone, the Stars hit the gas in the other direction and Cody Eakin ended the game with a snipe to the top shelf. The overtime victory helped Dallas tie the series up and turn their fate around.

So there you have it. It’s been an exciting past four years in the postseason for the Dallas Stars, and each win has included some special moments. It’s always fun reminiscing, especially when other teams are having all the fun at the moment.

Next: Missing The Playoffs Is Probably For The Best For Stars

After reliving all of these fun memories, there’s probably one question on your mind: is it October yet?