Dallas Stars Slipping In Loaded Western Conference Playoff Picture

The Dallas Stars dropped their second straight game in regulation on Wednesday night for the first time in three weeks. As a result, this sudden lack of points has removed them from the playoff picture entirely.

The worst losses are the ones that you cannot sense are coming. That’s what happened with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night in California.

As the Stars entered the third period against the Anaheim Ducks, they seemed to hold all of the cards. They were up 3-2 after scoring three unanswered goals in the second period, had their power play clicking, and were on their way to another impressive comeback victory against a good Ducks team.

But then, all of that hope disappeared. Within a matter of 2:59, Ondrej Kase completed his first career hat trick, Brandon Montour scored on a wrist shot, and Jakob Silfverberg used his foot to tip a puck into the net while falling down. Just like that, it was 5-3 Anaheim with the Stars showing no signs of life or of a chance at rallying. Ben Bishop looked uncomfortable and aggravated in the crease, and the team in front of him had lost all of their spark.

By the end of the game, it was 6-3 Ducks. The Dallas Stars lost their second game in a row in regulation, dropping to 16-12-3 and remaining at the 35-point plateau.

It was an unexpectedly sour way to end their Wednesday night. Now, the Stars are 0-2-0 to start their four-game road trip, missed out on a chance at sweeping the Ducks, and are quickly falling away from the 4-0-1 streak that they were riding just one week ago. They are also now on the outside of the playoff picture.

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Let’s pause for a moment and break that down. For the past month, the Dallas Stars have sat comfortably in the wild card spots in the Western Conference. They controlled the first wild card spot for most of that time, though there was a little bit of fluctuation.

And yet, here they are. As of Thursday morning, the Stars are completely outside of the playoff picture and now considered “in the hunt.” That’s almost unbelievable to think about.

Going into their game against Vegas on Sunday night, Dallas was a promising 7-3-1 in their previous 11 contests. They were building themselves into a contender, slowly chipping away at the top three teams in the Central division, and making do without some of their top players. Their play against the Pacific division was promising and gave way to a potentially dominant stretch throughout early December.

But two losses now have them pinned on the outside. How did that happen?

Well, it happened simply because the Western Conference kept up. While the Dallas Stars were building win streaks and consistently hanging with the opposition and picking up points, so was the rest of the conference.

At the moment, the wild card race looks like this for the Stars:

1. Vegas Golden Knights 33 GP 37 PTS

2. Edmonton Oilers 31 GP 36 PTS

3. Dallas Stars 31 GP 35 PTS

4. Minnesota Wild 30 GP 34 PTS

5. Vancouver Canucks 33 GP 31 PTS

That’s a lot of teams fighting for two spots near the midway point of the season. As a result, the Stars have to dig in.

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Now, it is still early. A playoff race is 82 games long for many reasons, one of which involves teams getting an opportunity to go through ups and downs and still be included. It always comes down to who wants it most, and Dallas still has four months to prove that.

But this should certainly serve as an alarm for the team. For the past month, the Stars have sat inside the playoff picture, jockeying for position. Now, they are outside of the group and have three teams going stride for stride with them. That’s no easy task to face when you’re on a two-game losing streak and still missing some of your best players.

It’s not the end of the world, though. Dallas is just one point out of the second wild card spot and two points out of first. They are also within striking distance of a top three spot in the Central division. So, there are still plenty of things going for them.

But this has to serve as a spark. The West is as deep as it has been in a while, and that will pose a challenge for the Dallas Stars as they continue their race back to the postseason.

That race makes its next stop in San Jose tonight as the Stars take on the Sharks in search of yet another series sweep. They have outlasted the Sharks twice this season, with both games coming on home ice. But, with this game happening at the SAP Center and serving as the second dose of a back-to-back, it presents an entirely new challenge.

It will be up to the Stars to meet it head-on. With the Canucks (vs. Predators), Oilers (vs. Jets), and Wild (vs. Panthers) all in action tonight as well, there is plenty of room for more shuffling by Friday morning.

So as this playoff race continues to heat up and take form, it’s important to remember that this could come down to the wire. It could end up simply being a matter of which teams can outlast the others. Can the Stars be one of those teams? If so, the outlasting starts now.