Dallas Stars Throwback: Stars Lose Game 7 To St. Louis Blues

Two years ago today, the Dallas Stars were ousted from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s crazy to think that this game seven meltdown was two years ago, but it’s even more crazy to look at what little the Stars have done since.

It’s been two years exactly since the Dallas Stars last tasted playoff action. Oh, how time flies.

If you’ve ever been to a Stars home game, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a “throwback” moment in Stars history. They are typically put on the Jumbotron along with a highlight package and typically show during intermission.

And while those are all usually exciting or positively charged, this one isn’t. But it’s one that Dallas Stars fans need to remember and focus on. After all, this could very well be the day the Stars we all knew and loved so dearly disappeared entirely. And after two years, there’s still no sign of them.

The day was May 11, 2016. The Dallas Stars, fresh off of a 109-point season that concluded with their first Central Division title and the Western Conference regular season champions title, were set to face their first game seven since 2007.

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After sealing their first round victory over the Minnesota Wild in six games, the Stars were squaring off with the St. Louis Blues in round two. The two had exchanged blows throughout the first six games, which only added on to the excitement and hype of the deciding game in Dallas. The Stars were riding a defiant 3-2 win in St. Louis in game six and seemed to have a wave of momentum ready for use to close out the series with. This juggernaut Stars squad was finally going to return to the Western Conference Finals.

The stage was set. A packed-to-the-brim American Airlines Center that was rocking at a level it had not seen since the Dallas Mavericks’ trip to the NBA Finals in 2011. The Stars had an incredible home-ice atmosphere at their disposal. Everything seemed to be in place for Dallas to claim a victorious finish to the series and advance to the WCF.

And then, it all went downhill. The Stars defense buckled at the knees in the first period and starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen went transparent. The Blues tacked on three goals before the first intermission to the Stars’ zero and entered the locker room with a commanding lead. From there, all hope seemed to be lost.

The St. Louis Blues advance to the Western Conference Final after defeating the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 7. pic.twitter.com/GlSwnGJoDE
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 12, 2016

Besides a Patrick Eaves goal in the third period, the Stars were entirely absent in their biggest game of the season. They dropped a 6-1 decision and entered the offseason on a much too early note considering the success they had built during the season. It just didn’t seem right.

Two years later, it still doesn’t seem right. Here we are at May 11, 2018, and the Dallas Stars have yet to play in a playoff game since. In fact, they have yet to finish in the top five of the Central Division since their historic 2015-16 campaign. That’s a long fall and a painful reality to accept.

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And we can spend all the time we want wondering if things would be different had the Stars come out victorious on that fateful night two years ago. Would that team still be, at least for the most part, together in Victory Green? Would the Stars have a heightened sense of pressure to succeed now? Would the Dallas Stars be the 2016 Stanley Cup champions?

But there’s no point in dwelling on it. Instead, look at what has happened. The Dallas Stars spent the 2016-17 season flying well below expectations and missing the playoffs by a substantial 15 points, marking the second-worst season in franchise history. And this past season, the Stars looked like a great hockey team until mid-February before letting the wheels fall off the bus entirely. They were eliminated from the playoff race with a week remaining in the season after sitting in a playoff spot for over three consecutive months.

This is by no means a throwback that the Stars or their fans want to remember or recollect. But it’s one that needs to serve as a reminder of what this team can be when everything falls into place. And it needs to be a first step in looking ahead at the future and what this team can make of it.

The Dallas Stars were an impressive hockey team in 2015-16. But after one game seven meltdown, they haven’t been the same since. They seem to have lost their sight and vision, and that’s the most disappointing part of it all.

They did so many great things with an iffy coaching staff, a subpar goaltending duo, and a defense that was altogether pretty average in itself. But man, was that offense something else. There’s a chance that those weak points will be fixed and revitalized next season.

But for now, they are enduring another offseason of change and looking to take the team in a more promising direction. Is there a chance to take the team in the direction that it went in 2015-16? Absolutely. The talent is obviously there and the Stars have the ability to make a push under the right scheme and coaching staff. But all of that has to happen first.

On this day, the Stars need to remember the potential that they had and the great things that they accomplished just two years ago. The past two seasons of mediocrity may try and bury that fact, but it’s true. Dallas is not that far off from returning to prominence. The competition is thicker now, but that just makes the challenge all the more enticing.

Next: Three Reasons Why Stars' 2017-18 Season Wasn't All Bad

Two years ago today, the Dallas Stars seemed to lose themselves and their potential. It is still out there, though. All they have to do is find and reel it back in. Maybe that will happen this summer.