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Dallas Stars Prospects: Texas Stars Readying Up For AHL Playoff Series

ByTom Dorsa|
CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 18: Texas Stars D Andrew Bodnarchuk (2) shoots the puck during the first period of the AHL hockey game between the Texas Stars and Cleveland Monsters on March 18, 2017, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated Texas 6-3. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 18: Texas Stars D Andrew Bodnarchuk (2) shoots the puck during the first period of the AHL hockey game between the Texas Stars and Cleveland Monsters on March 18, 2017, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated Texas 6-3. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Texas Stars used Saturday night’s game against San Antonio to prepare for their first postseason series in two years. There was a lot to take in down south as the Dallas Stars affiliate looks to bring postseason success back to the franchise.

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars dropped their regular season finale against their Interstate-35 rivals, the San Antonio Rampage, by a 4-3 shootout decision on Saturday night. In front of a sold-out HEB Center at Cedar Park crowd, Rampage forward Klim Kostin beat Stars starting goaltender in the shootout’s fifth round to end the 76-game campaign.

It was the 28th overtime game of a long 2017-18 season. “Thank God there’s no three-on-three overtime or shootouts in the playoffs,” Stars head coach Derek Laxdal said post-game. Thankfully, the game was secondary. The Stars had clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs a week prior, while the Rampage were mathematically eliminated the same night.

Texas finishes the season 38-24-8-6 with 90 points and a .592 points percentage, coming in second in the Pacific Division. Despite the loss, the Stars clinched home-ice advantage in the postseason matchup between Texas and the Ontario Reign that begins on Thursday. By virtue of the Reign’s 5-1 defeat to the Bakersfield Condors, Texas and Ontario Reign will play Game 5 in Cedar Park if necessary.

“In a five-game series, I don’t really think home-ice is gonna make a difference. You’re gonna have to win in the other team’s building at some point, and for us it’s just a matter of utilizing the games at home here and worry about one game at a time,” Laxdal exclaimed.

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Regardless of the impact, or lack thereof, with home-ice locked up, this is good news for Dallas Stars fans. Though the Stanley Cup Playoffs will not be taking place in the Lone Star State, postseason hockey will be just a three-hour trip down the freeway.

“Our guys had a great season. We battled all year with call-ups and injuries, and that group in there knows it’s all about the playoffs,” Laxdal continued. “We have to be ready to respond on Thursday night.”

“Ontario is a good hockey club. They’re big, they’re heavy, they’re physical. Right now is just about us preparing.”

Last night, the Stars iced a lineup that, according to coach Laxdal, mirrors what we will see in the postseason. With the addition of NHL regulars Remi Elie, Jason Dickinson, and Dillon Heatherington, coach Laxdal and his staff had some lineup choices to make. Looking toward Thursday’s playoff opener, the lineup seems mightily skilled at all turns.

Saturday’s Texas Stars lineup:

Travis Morin – Jason Dickinson – Joel L’Esperance
Curtis McKenzie – Justin Dowling – Tony Calderone
Remi Elie – Roope Hintz – Brian Flynn
Denis Gurianov – Sheldon Dries – Robbie Payne

Dillon Heatherington – Brent Regner
Andrew Bodnarchuk – Reece Scarlett
Gavin Bayreuther – Niklas Hansson

Landon Bow
Mike McKenna

The power play and penalty kill units are coming to fruition as well. Having guys like Heatherington and Dickinson will make things easier shorthanded, and provide some auxiliary support to Morin and McKenzie when up a man.

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Power Play #1:

Flynn – Hintz – Morin
Scarlett – Bodnarchuk

Power Play #2:

McKenzie – Dowling – Calderone
Regner – Bayreuther

Penalty Kill #1:

Dickinson – Elie
Heatherington – Regner

Penalty Kill #2:

Dries – Gurianov
Bodnarchuk – Hansson

With everything set in the Stars lineup, Laxdal just has to keep energy up in the dressing room to give the guys a chance to succeed. “Like I said to the guys after the game, it’s all about them in the dressing room. There are 29 guys in there, and at some point in time, someone’s gonna have to step up. Any given night, someone can be a hero, and we just have to be ready for it.”

If you’re a Dallas Stars fan and you’re planning on making the trek down to the Austin metro area for a Texas game, or if you’re just curious, here is the schedule for the Pacific Division semifinals and the full Calder Cup Playoffs bracket.

Game 1 – Thursday, Apr. 19 – Ontario at Texas, 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Friday, Apr. 20 – Ontario at Texas, 7 p.m.
Game 3 – Sunday, Apr. 22 – Texas at Ontario, 5 p.m.
*Game 4 – Tuesday, Apr. 24 – Texas at Ontario, 9 p.m.
*Game 5 – Monday, Apr. 30 – Ontario at Texas, 7 p.m.

*if necessary. All times Central Daylight Time.

Next: Jim Nill, Stars Would be Smart to Be Patient in Coaching Search

The Stars will look to win their first postseason series since their 2013-14 Calder Cup championship run when the postseason begins on Thursday. Follow me on Twitter, @TomDorsa, for live updates from Cedar Park in Games one and two.

Here’s to hopefully finding some postseason success in the Dallas Stars organization.

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