Dallas Stars Race To Stanley Cup Playoffs Will Help Them Greatly

There are 28 games left in the Dallas Stars regular season campaign, and their playoff odds still seem very much up in the air. But if they can earn themselves a postseason spot, this race will come in great handy.

The Dallas Stars are once again one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They are currently tied for the longest active win streak in the NHL at three games. They have fended off two playoff-caliber opponents in the past three days, are in the top ten in goals for and top five in goals against in the NHL, and are putting together an impressive run over the past month.

And even with all of that, they still may miss the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As unnerving or illogical that may sound, it’s the truth. The Stars could lose two or three games and quickly find themselves outside the playoff picture.

But this conundrum isn’t necessarily any fault of their own. The Stars are 12 games above .500 (31-19-4), have 66 points in 54 games, and are on pace to finish the season with 99 points. I can’t remember of a time when a team finished a season with 99 points and didn’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s simply a result of how good the rest of the Western Conference is doing right now. 11 of the 14 teams in the West still have a legitimate shot at a playoff spot, and the Stars are in the middle of the pack. Five teams are within six points of each other in the race for the wild card race. In addition, there are five points separating the top four teams in the Central Division. The Stars do sit in fourth at the moment, but still have plenty of time left to keep climbing.

And that’s all they really can do at this point: keep climbing. But if they succeed in said climb, they will be much better for it when the playoffs actually roll around.

That’s because this race to the playoffs is a lot like the postseason itself and includes many of the same qualities.

Over the past month or two, the Stars have been forced to dig deep in order to stay in the thick of the fight. Sometimes they have to find a way to give a half a percent more of effort than their opponent, even when it seems realistically impossible. They have to find ways to outsmart the opposition, play with a new level of energy, use all of their available resources, and simply want it more.

Dallas Stars

It’s paying off in their regular season fight so far, but it also pays off in places like the playoffs.

Remember the Dallas Stars run at the Stanley Cup in 2016? The Stars eased their way through the first round against the Minnesota Wild and used a lot of the same techniques. They dug in and exploited the Wild’s weaknesses. The Stars also used their resources, leaning on both of their goalies throughout the round and receiving balanced efforts from all of their lines and pairings.

Then they got to the second round against the St. Louis Blues, and the wheels came off the bus. The goaltenders faltered, the defense couldn’t keep up in most games, and the offense had a hard time cracking Brian Elliott.

It’s not like they didn’t try, though. The Stars fought hard and put everything they had on the table on multiple occasions to work it to a game seven, but that’s where everything imploded. It was obvious in the final game that St. Louis simply had more left in the tank than Dallas, and the Stars fell short as a result.

But now, they are learning what it takes to win in the playoffs before they even get there. Ken Hitchcock has spent the past few months talking about how it feels as though the team is already in the playoffs, and in many ways, they are.

The Stars are learning what it takes to win in the postseason on a nightly basis at the moment. They have to adapt and learn how to keep up with the pace of the Western Conference. The playoffs are about figuring out which team wants it the most and which team is willing to give the most to reach the ultimate goal. With 28 games left in the season, the Stars are already having to do this and prove their desire and worth.

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Dallas is showing right now that they are willing to give everything and put it all on the line simply for a berth. And at the moment, it seems to be working well. Their efforts so far have been enough to give them sole control of the first wild card spot and within striking distance of the top three in the division. If they can qualify for the postseason, their current play and mindset could very well help them make a deep run.

That’s definitely a good sign as they approach the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.