Dallas Stars Need To Close Out Season In Los Angeles With A Win

There’s only one game remaining between the Dallas Stars and a long offseason. They are in Los Angeles tonight to take on the Kings in another game that means very little. But it would still be in their best interest to grab a win before the year ends.

It all comes down to this. The Dallas Stars will play game 82 of their 2017-18 campaign tonight. Following that, they will pack up their stuff and embark on another long offseason.

As a Stars fan, you may be surprised that the end of the season is here. But you are more than likely thankful and are still wondering why it has taken so long. It’s funny how fast time flies when everything is going right and how slow it drudges on when things go wrong.

For Dallas, just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The Stars were locked in a playoff spot in early March and fell drastically. As the losses piled up, their hopes decreased by the day. An eight-game losing streak and a 4-8-4 stretch throughout March finally did them in.

And here we are with one final game to observe before heading for the summer. It’s frustrating and disappointing considering the talent the Stars have with the current group. It gets even more frustrating when the thought of another offseason filled with shaking up the locker room comes into play. It has to be done, though, considering what they have right now isn’t working. It’s the nature of the beast.

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But there is still 60-65 minutes left of hockey before those thoughts settle in for the next few months. And those final few minutes of action could do a lot for the Stars if they play their cards right.

The Dallas Stars are in Los Angeles tonight to take on the Kings for the third (and obviously final) time this year. It’s another case of a struggling Dallas team taking on a playoff-bound opponent that is looking to build up momentum before the postseason.

The Stars are coming into LA tired and disappointed after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Ducks last night in Anaheim. In the game, there were some good things. But there were also a fair amount of bad things (like the five goals and 28-12 shot ratio through the first two periods of action. That eventually led to the undesirable final score.

Dallas did, however, put together a rally in the third but ultimately fell short when they gave up the fifth goal. It was another addition to a pretty consistent string of morose and unenthused performances that are still tagging along from March.

But the Stars have one more chance to right the ship at the Staples Center tonight.

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Last year, the Dallas Stars suffered through a traumatic season. They finished with one of the worst records in franchise history, missed the playoffs by 15 points, and finished with a record below .500 for the first time in a while. They did it all with some legitimate talent on their team (at least on offense), which made it even more confusing.

The Stars capped off the bad year with a shootout victory on home ice against the Colorado Avalanche. It wasn’t the best season, but it was a great way to go out and leave the door open for the next year.

In 2014-15, Dallas missed the playoffs but finished their season with a win in the final seconds of the third period against the Nashville Predators. This also included a Jamie Benn hat trick and helped him secure the Art Ross Trophy.

In other words, even when the final game of the year comes along, there is still something to shoot for. If the Stars can close out this rough patch on a high note, it gives hope to the offseason ahead and even to the 2018-19 campaign.

It will also be the final game for this group to play together. Names like Kari Lehtonen (who is starting tonight), Greg Pateryn, Dan Hamhuis, and Antoine Roussel could all very well be missing from the Dallas roster next season considering they will be free agents this summer. That being said, this could be their final game in Victory Green. It would be rewarding to help cap their time in Dallas off with two points.

This final game means a lot more than just serving as a stepping stone into an early offseason. The results of this game could help carry the Stars further into next year and give them something positive to hang their hat on. After all, there isn’t much else at this point in the year.

Next: Central Division Played Part In Burying Stars Yet Again

Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. from Staples Center. After that, there’s no more Dallas Stars hockey to indulge in until September. So tune in while you still can.