Dallas Stars: Weekend Win Streak Could Provide Significant Momentum
After a raucous and energetic win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, only one game separates the Dallas Stars from the NHL holiday break. Here’s why a win against the Islanders on Sunday night could prove to be crucial for the Stars.
It was both everything you could ever want and everything you fear in a hockey game. It featured two teams digging in, a two-period stalemate, a late lead followed by an equalizer, and an extra period that involved all sorts of emotions. And yes, it also showcased a Dallas Stars win.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch the Stars’ victory over the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Saturday night, you likely missed out on a lot. You missed Dallas getting out to yet another slow start but rallying and taking control of the game midway through following Roman Polak‘s energetic bout. You missed Jamie Benn scoring in the third period to take the lead, only to have his goal negated by Jason Zucker‘s tally with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
You missed a goalie shootout for the ages between Ben Bishop and Devan Dubnyk. Both goalies made some timely saves while receiving some help from the piping around them to keep the game at a low-scoring affair. You missed an overtime that kept Stars and Wild fans alike on the edges of their seats for 4:50 while both teams traded grade-A opportunities and barely clung to life. And finally, you missed an exhausted and battered Alexander Radulov snipe home the game-winning goal and put his last ounce of energy towards his traditional stick-holster celebration.
It was a game of highs and lows, excitement and despair, energy and fatigue. It offered everything that you could ask for in an important divisional showdown.
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And with the win, the Dallas Stars broke a lot of streaks. They broke their four-game losing skid at Xcel Energy Center, snapped a five-game losing skid (0-4-1) against the Central division, and picked up their second win in three games after losing four in a row last week.
All of that combined to propel the Stars back into the Western Conference playoff picture after 10 consecutive days on the outside. At the moment, Dallas sits in the final wild card spot in the West. They are four points back of the first wild card spot currently held by the Anaheim Ducks, though the Stars have two games in hand. But, with Edmonton, Vancouver, and Minnesota all within two points of the final wild card spot as well, the Stars have no breathing room.
So, how do teams get breathing room? Simple: by winning consistently and finding a little bit of luck along the way.
But while the luck simply has to appear in due time, the winning can be self-controlled. It’s up to the Dallas Stars to start up a hot streak and continue trending in the right direction.
Their next chance to do so comes tonight against the New York Islanders. It’s the second game of a back-to-back and will be the Stars’ final game before heading into the three-day NHL holiday break. And yes, there is plenty on the line.
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Eyes On Isles
The thing about the Stars is that they are approaching the midway point of the year. With 36 games down and 46 to go, this is the time in any regular season where NHL teams have to begin using a playoff mindset. The postseason race will only get more narrow and competitive from here, so it’s crucial to begin picking up consistent points around the holidays.
This game against the Islanders offers Dallas everything they could want. It’s a team that the Stars beat 6-2 just a little over a month ago in Brooklyn. Dallas is also the only team in the West wild card race playing today. It’s also a chance to build on their poor record in game two of a back-to-back (1-4-0 on the season).
And finally, it’s a chance to gain some impressive momentum going into the break. Three days off will be greatly beneficial to this Dallas Stars team that will have played 37 games on the season (only four teams have played more). And with that being said, a win could build some serious promise.
Two points would not only give the Stars a firm, absolute lead on the final wild card spot, but it would also put them over the 40-point mark. It would bring them within two points of the first wild card slot with a game in hand and within three points of third place in the division. A win would mark their third in the last four contests, which would further cut into erasing their four-game losing skid from last week.
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A win sends the Dallas Stars into the break with their heads high for many different reasons and gives them a newfound sense of confidence as they approach a tough slate on the other end of Christmas. A loss puts them outside of the playoff picture and slides Edmonton back in (based on games played), leaving even more work to be done coming out of the break.
Dallas has been good in these pre-Christmas games over the past few seasons with a 3-0-0 mark since the 2015-16 season. All of these final games have been played at the American Airlines Center, giving the Stars one last chance to send themselves and their fans into the holidays with a little extra cheer.
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Will it happen again tonight? If so, it could be huge in boosting the Dallas Stars throughout this critical stretch of the season.
Tune in at 7 p.m. to find out.