The Dallas Stars are finally heading back on the road after an extensive homestand. With their next four games being away from home, the Stars have even less room for error.
With 44 games down and 38 games to go, the standings carry an incredible amount of weight for the Dallas Stars right now. Yes, you read that right.
The Stars are just a few games past the halfway point in their 2017-18 regular season schedule, and things are already piling up in the playoff race. There are plenty of teams bunched into the race for the two wild card spots in the Western Conference, and that leaves Dallas in a bit of a compromised position.
And when you’re in a position like that, losing your first game out of a bye week in a flat 4-1 affair isn’t the greatest aid.
Yet, that’s the path the Stars took. After going into their week off from hockey with a triumphant 5-1 victory over Edmonton, Dallas jumped back in the mix six days later and dropped a winnable game to Colorado.
Dallas Stars
They closed out a long homestand with a loss, dropped their Central Division record to 7-10-0, and made the standings even dangerously closer. With the Stars’ loss and Minnesota’s victory on Saturday, Dallas fell out of the first wild card spot for the first time in over two weeks. The Stars now sit in the second wild card spot in the West and are close to falling out of the playoff race.
That cannot happen at this point (or any point throughout this season, for that matter). Never before have the standings been this close since realignment in 2013, and that’s not ideal for a team right in the middle of the pack.
With the Dallas Stars sitting in fifth in the Central and in the second wild card spot overall, the pressure is on. Teams like San Jose, Chicago, Colorado, and Anaheim are all within two points of the Stars in the race. Though there are a few games in and out of hand here and there, the bottom line is that one win or loss could drastically change the landscape. On top of that, the Minnesota Wild are holding a two-point lead on the first wild card spot, but have two games out of hand.
These will definitely come into play throughout the rest of the season and will give Dallas that much more to worry about. When a team falls behind in the standings, it can become increasingly difficult to claw back into the fight, especially when there are multiple teams around them in the same battle. With that being said, the Stars are in a good position right now but cannot afford to slip.
And with this upcoming road trip in front of them, there seems to be plenty of potential pitfalls.
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They start it today at noon in Boston against a red-hot Bruins team. The Bruins have points in their last 12 games and are riding an incredible 9-0-3 record over the past month. The Stars have not beaten the Bruins since November 3, 2015 and are 0-3-0 in their last three attempts. Dallas will have to find a way to halt one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now and do it on the road, where they have struggled this season.
Following this afternoon’s game, they hit up Detroit to close out a back-to-back slate. The Red Wings looked to be a lost cause about a month ago, but have won four of their last six games and find themselves within striking distance of the wild card yet again. A win against a Stars team that will likely be tired and weary after playing one day before could greatly help them out.
After the Boston and Detroit trip, the Dallas Stars head to Columbus. The Blue Jackets currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division and are looking to make a second straight playoff appearance. They are one of the few Eastern Conference teams that have beaten Dallas this year, doing it two weeks ago by a score of 2-1. The Stars will need to return the favor on the Blue Jackets’ home ice to keep themselves in good standing.
And then they close the trip out with a trip to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. The Stars already beat the Sabres once this season back in November, and Buffalo has yet to pick up the pace. The Sabres are dead last in the Eastern Conference and have an 18-point gap between them and the second wild card spot. The Stars can end the trip on a high note with a win here on Saturday.
Next: A Week Off Helped The Stars In More Ways Than One
The standings are tight as ever and that leaves little room for error. There is a chance that Dallas could be out of the playoff picture by tonight if the Stars lose to Boston and one or two other teams win. That’s how crazy this is. No matter how good the Dallas Stars have been, they have to keep matching that progress and adding onto it.
It all starts at noon in Beantown. Can the Stars keep themselves ahead of the pack?