The Dallas Stars haven’t played hockey since last Saturday night. But even with the week off, they are still in good shape in the standings.
Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Stars actually benefited from their bye week.
One week ago today, the Stars played the 43rd game of their 2017-18 regular season campaign. It resulted in a 5-1 thrashing of the Edmonton Oilers. The win propelled Dallas to a record of 24-16-3 with 51 points and sent them into their bye week on a high note.
Every NHL team has a bye week implemented in their schedule sometime during the month of January. The break spans for five or six days and gives each team a chance to step back from a busy first half of the schedule and take a breather.
The Stars definitely earned their break as they approached it, finishing the first half of their schedule on an 8-3-2 run from December 11 to January 6. They began to pick up the pace in their play and built themselves a respectable streak. After starting the year on an average note, the Stars were arguably playing their best hockey of the season by the midway point.
Dallas Stars
And as a result of this streak, they entered the bye week with a modest standing in the playoff race. Dallas owned sole possession of the first wild card spot in the Western Conference as they entered their six-day break.
But that came with plenty of uncertainty and nervousness. While the Dallas Stars had started an impressive run and were in the playoff picture, a week off had a chance at derailing them entirely. That’s because of how tight the standings were and still are in the West. It seems as though all but three teams in the entire conference have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs, even with only eight available spots.
So while the Stars were holding steady in the wild card race, there was plenty of uncertainty going into the bye week. Would other teams jump them and put them in a hole? Would Dallas have to claw back into the fight?
Well, now the break is over. And as shocking as it may seem, the Dallas Stars actually seem to have benefited from the bye week.
The Stars entered the bye week in a bit of an odd position in the standings. They were within striking distance of the top three spots in the Central, but also had five teams close behind them in the wild card race. With that being said, there was no certainty as to where the Stars would end up by the end of the week.
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But now that the extended break from play is over, the Dallas Stars find themselves in the same spot that they started in. They still sit in the first wild card spot in the West, though their lead is a tad diminished.
The Stars only own a one-point lead over the Chicago Blackhawks who sit in the second wild card spot. All in all, there’s a four-point spread between the first wild card spot and 12th place in the West. So it is still tight.
Dallas is still in good shape, though. Not only that, but they also have picked up games in hand on multiple teams around them. Upon entering the bye week, the Stars had a few games out of hand and were waiting to see how things panned out. Now they have an extra ace in their back pocket in the standings race.
Luckily, things ended up going their way. The Stars can now stack themselves up alongside many of the other teams in the crammed playoff race and still own an advantage in points.
And on top of winning the wild card battle, Dallas also earned a great chance to make a run at the top three. The St. Louis Blues lost three games in a row before entering their own bye week. As a result, the Stars have three games in hand on the Blues and are only four points out from St. Louis, who sits in third in the division.
If the Stars can capitalize and take advantage, they have the opportunity to drive their way into the top three and make a claim at the top spot.
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But as of right now, the Dallas Stars are in good shape. Even after stepping away from the rink for a week in a tightly contested playoff race, they still managed to keep a firm grasp on their position in the race. Now it’s up to them to defend their turf and embrace this new opportunity when they get back to play tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.
It looks like things may finally be going their way for a change. Isn’t that nice?