Dallas Stars: Evaluating Western Conference Playoff Race This Week
The Western Conference playoff race enters one of its final weeks with the standings as tight as ever. What do the Dallas Stars and their fellow competitors have to look forward to this week?
Another week of the regular season is on deck for the Dallas Stars and the rest of the Western Conference.
It’s Mar. 5, 2018, which means there are only 35 days left in the 2017-18 NHL regular season. That translates out to exactly five weeks remaining, including the current one. That’s not a lot of time.
And yet, it still seems like any number of things could happen in the Western Conference playoff race. That’s partly due to the tightness of the standings as well as the extensive number of teams still involved.
There are eight points separating eight teams between the Central Division and Pacific Division. That’s a lot considering the time remaining in the season continues quickly ticking away.
Dallas Stars
Sitting in the middle of the race is the Dallas Stars. With a record of 37-23-5 with 79 points in 65 games, the Stars own sole control of the first wild card spot. Before Minnesota beat Detroit yesterday and picked up two points, Dallas sat in third place in the Central.
The positions are constantly juggling as every game becomes more and more crucial. Teams currently in playoff spots like the Stars need wins to lock themselves in as playoff contenders while teams on the bubble need wins to claw back into the picture. It’s a delicate balance that seems to constantly change in both divisions. And where will the Dallas Stars fall by game 82? Your guess is as good as ours.
The Stars have shown significant promise over the past few games. They have rallied in certain situations and picked up valuable points in the process. But the rest of the West is keeping up in one way or another and not making it easy on Dallas by any means. Any slip up by the Stars could prove to be critical.
And that’s where another challenging week for Dallas could come into play. The Dallas Stars have four games on tap this week, and the results could very well make or break their season.
But what are the teams around them doing? Are they in a similar corner as Dallas or do they have a walk in the park that will only make the Stars’ trek to the postseason more difficult?
As of Monday morning, here are the standings out West.
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Central Division
1. Nashville Predators 65 GP 93 PTS
2. Winnipeg Jets 65 GP 87 PTS
3. Minnesota Wild 66 GP 81 PTS
Pacific Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights 65 GP 89 PTS
2. San Jose Sharks 66 GP 79 PTS
3. Anaheim Ducks 66 GP 78 PTS
Wild Card Race
1. Dallas Stars (Central) 65 GP 79 PTS
2. Los Angeles Kings (Pacific) 66 GP 77 PTS
3. Colorado Avalanche 65 GP 76 PTS
4. St. Louis Blues 66 GP 75 PTS
5. Calgary Flames 66 GP 73 PTS
Here’s a breakdown of what each of the eight teams in the Western Conference race have on their plates over the next seven days. Feel free to reference back to this whenever you need it over the next week when trying to compare how a team’s results will affect the Stars.
Pacific Division Race
While it may seem folly to worry about a division that the Dallas Stars are not associated with, the results of the Pacific could affect the Stars in significant ways.
There are a few teams within a handful of points of each other in the Pacific. This has led to a constant changing of the guard in the top three and in the wild card race. Different teams are catching hot and cold streaks and swapping positions.
With that being said, let’s look at the four teams Dallas should keep an eye on considering they themselves are currently in the wild card race with the rest of these teams.
San Jose Sharks
Games: 2 (3/8, 3/10)
Opponents: St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals
While they aren’t a direct threat, the Sharks are dangerously close to falling out of their long-held second place spot in the Pacific. After winning on Sunday, the Ducks moved to just one point out of second. They are threatening the Sharks, as are the Kings who are two points behind. If the Sharks have an off week, they could quickly find themselves in the wild card race along with Dallas (who they have the same amount of points as).
The Stars do have something working in their favor, though. If the Sharks can pull out a win against St. Louis on Thursday, it could deal another severe blow to the Blues’ playoff hopes. Though they don’t carry a significant weight in the Stars’ world, go ahead and keep an eye on the Sharks just in case.
Anaheim Ducks
Games: 3 (3/6, 3/8, 3/9)
Opponents: Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars
The results of the Ducks’ games this week could make things very interesting in the Western Conference race.
After taking on a soaring Capitals team on Tuesday, the Ducks will lock in for matchups with the Predators and Stars. That’s two Central Division opponents currently locked in a tightly contested Central contest.
Just as they did on Saturday against St. Louis, the Stars will have another chance to pin a team behind them with this game against Anaheim. But while the Ducks and Kings scrap it out for third place in the Pacific, the Stars merely have to worry about themselves.
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Pucks and Pitchforks
Los Angeles Kings
Games: 2 (3/8, 3/10)
Opponents: Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues
The Kings sit directly behind the Stars, with a two point gap separating the two clubs. They also squad off with the Capitals and Blues this week (like San Jose).
Though the Stars have a game in hand on the Kings, that will disappear quickly by the end of the week. So the Stars need to make this one count.
Calgary Flames
Games: 4 (3/5, 3/7, 3/9. 3/11)
Opponents: Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders
The Islanders are in panic mode right now. The team has dropped six of its past eight games and now sits at the bottom of the playoff race in the West. There is still time to turn things around, but their postseason hopes are fading quickly.
Depending on how this week goes, the Flames could either potentially gain ground or be considered out of the race completely. And with a slate full of Eastern Conference teams, it could really go either way.
Central Division Race
This is where things get interesting. While Nashville and Winnipeg seem to be running away with the top two spots and Chicago seems to have last place reserved, spots 3-6 are still a complete toss-up.
The Wild. Stars, Avalanche, and Blues are all neck-and-neck in the Central Division race. There’s a lot that still has to be solved and that could begin as early as this week.
Minnesota Wild
Games: 3 (3/6, 3/9, 3/10)
Opponents: Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks
The Wild own third place in the Central as of Monday morning after defeating the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. The Stars trail closely behind by two points and have a game in hand which will be spent by the end of the week.
The Wild have a playoff-hungry opponent in the Hurricanes and two struggling teams in the Oilers and Canucks in the upcoming week. While it may seem like a relatively light schedule, Minnesota recently dropped a game to Arizona, the league’s worst team. So anything is possible as this next week gets underway.
Dallas Stars
Games: 4 (3/5, 3/6, 3/9, 3/11)
Opponents: Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ah, here we are at everyone’s favorite team.
This week, the Dallas Stars are facing a vast mixture of opponents. Their schedule is composed of struggling teams like Ottawa, dominant teams like Nashville (which will take place on short rest) and Pittsburgh, and a team directly below them in the playoff race in Anaheim. By the end of the week, they could either be well ahead in the race or be out of the picture completely.
This heavy schedule will bring a good test along for the Stars and see just how deserving of a playoff spot they are. Let’s see what this week has to offer.
Dallas Stars
Colorado Avalanche
Games: 3 (3/6, 3/8, 3/10)
Opponents: Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes
The Stars and Avalanche already finished their season series against each other, so their playoff battle between each other will come in outside games.
But that still leaves a lot to be determined. Colorado only sits three points back of Dallas, so they are very much within striking distance. They have a slate filled with teams currently outside the playoff picture this week, which could lead to them building an even hotter streak than they already have.
St. Louis Blues
Games: 2 (3/8, 3/10)
Opponents: San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings
Around three weeks ago, the Blues sat in sole control of third place in the Central. Now they are holding up the back of the race with four points and a game out of hand separating them from Dallas. If that’s not a perfect illustration of how quickly things can change in this tight race, I don’t know what is.
The Blues only have two games this week and will likely need to capitalize on both in some form or fashion to stay alive in the race. On the bright side, they take on two other teams mentioned in the Pacific playoff race. That could either help eliminate one team fully or make the race that much more interesting.
Next: You Cannot Count The Stars Out Of Games Anymore
Overall, it’s looking like it will be another jam-packed and high-energy week in the Western Conference push to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.