Dallas Stars: Upcoming Homestand A Chance To Battle Desperate Teams

The Dallas Stars open up a three-game homestand on Tuesday night. Throughout the stand, they will be going toe-to-toe with some of the more desperate teams in the NHL right now. As a result, it’s imperative that they learn how to effectively battle desperation.

The New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago Blackhawks will visit the Dallas Stars this week as they get a three-game homestand underway. But what do these three opponents have in common?

Though the three have significantly different recent histories and are spread all across the NHL map, they currently share one common trait at the tail end of the 2018-19 season. That trait is desperation.

Unlike during their recent road trip where the Stars took on some of the top teams in the league, this homestand offers a new challenge.

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As of Tuesday morning, the Rangers, Blackhawks, and Avalanche all sit outside of their respective conference playoff picture. For Chicago and Colorado, that applies pressure as they try and keep their playoff hopes alive and kicking in the final month of the season. On the other hand, New York is simply building for the future after selling heavy at the trade deadline and accepting their fate. But even so, they are aiming to end their year on a high note.

The Rangers are 27-27-11 with 65 points and will be in Dallas on Tuesday night to kick off the homestand. And, even after considering all of the selling that they have done and the rebuild they are currently enduring, they sit just six points behind the Stars in the NHL standings. Unfortunately, they are 12 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. As a result, their playoff hopes sit at 0.2 percent going into Tuesday.

The Avalanche are 28-26-12 with 68 points and will make their first visit to Dallas this season on Thursday. After trudging through a heavy losing skid during the month of February, Colorado has dropped from the middle of the wild card picture to just outside of the playoff wall. They are only three points out, though, and have since started up a hot streak to keep their hopes afloat at 33.4 percent.

Finally, the Stars will wrap up the homestand against the Blackhawks. Chicago is 27-30-9 on the year with 63 points. A recent skid has them eight points outside of the Western Conference postseason cutoff and at 1.7 percent chance to qualify. That’s a significant amount of grind to gain in one month, but crazier things have happened.

That’s three teams stuck in a certain sort of desperation. Instead of simply attempting to solidify their standing in the postseason, these teams are on the outside and trying to claw their way back in before the regular season campaign wraps up.

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And that’s what makes them so dangerous. At a critical point in the regular season slate, these teams aren’t trying to establish their standing in the postseason picture; instead, they are fighting for their playoff lives.

These teams have no room or reason to hold back. They have no bar of expectations to meet. Hockey fans and analysts have already counted them out and packed their bags for them. These teams have a sort of “us against the world” approach, and that can sometimes open new doors that other NHL teams never get to access. They play a loose style and are unafraid of any potential consequences. After all, what do they have to lose?

It’s a dangerous mindset for any team to adopt, but it’s an even more dangerous mindset to compete against.

Take the most recent road trip for example. While each of the four games offered something different, the contests against Chicago and Los Angeles were the most entertaining. That’s because the Hawks and Kings were in desperation mode.

In those two games, the Stars had to battle through comebacks, injuries, and a furious attack from their opponent. Both Chicago and LA turned to their inner emotions in an effort to bring out their strongest drive.

And that leads us into the focus of this upcoming homestand. For the Dallas Stars, it’s another critical step in the playoff push. After piecing together a successful 3-1-0 road trip last week, Dallas is back home and in a position to keep surging. They are three points out of third place in the Central division, but are only two points from the cutoff.

With that being said, the need to stay on a roll is absolute. One slip could put Dallas outside of the picture, while a handful of wins could push them into the top three of the division.

It’s a trying time in the regular season. Each game seems to be more critical than the one preceding it and only the strongest teams find a way to hang around past game 82.

But on this homestand, the Dallas Stars will have to find a way to dig a little deeper than usual. They aren’t going up against teams simply trying to keep their footing; instead, they are going up against teams that are trying to avoid being buried. And when a team sees their postseason hopes flickering, they tend to become more dangerous than ever before.

So, as the Stars welcome the Rangers to Dallas on Tuesday night and prepare to kick off this homestand, there’s a certain sense of urgency in both locker rooms. For the Rangers, it’s all about playing for pride and for the future. But for the Stars, it’s about staying established in their current position and adding a cushion.

That’s how it’s going to be for this three-game swing at the American Airlines Center. One team fighting for their playoff standing while the other fights for respect by any means necessary.

It’s a dangerous task that could have a significant payoff, assuming the Stars play it correctly. But for that, they will have to be ready for the kitchen sink on all three nights.

The Dallas Stars are 19-10-2 on home ice this season, but have lost two of their past three at the AAC. Their most recent home loss? A 3-0 defeat at the hands of a Carolina Hurricanes team that was desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Being desperate helps show a team just how deep they can dig. And when they get there, they can be tough to overcome.

This week offers Dallas a chance to counter desperation and continue building on their hot streak. But if anything is guaranteed, it’s that this trek won’t be an easy one.