Dallas Stars News: An Updated Look At 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff Odds

 With the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs less than three weeks away from beginning, it’s an ideal time of the year to keep an eye on each team’s playoff odds. As of right now, the Dallas Stars continue to trend closer to a spot at the postseason table. Here’s how their chances look as of March 21.

Only nine games and 16 days separate the Dallas Stars from the end of their 2018-19 regular season campaign. And as of right now, it looks as though they will get a chance to play past game 82.

One year ago, the Stars had just wrapped up a winless six-game road trip that drastically dropped their odds of qualifying for the postseason. Though the trip in and of itself wasn’t necessarily grueling by any means, Dallas managed to pull out just two of a possible 12 points.

As they sunk, the rest of the Western Conference caught up and pushed the Stars down the totem pole. And after another handful of losses helped cap off a 4-8-4 month of March, Dallas was mathematically eliminated from the race on April 1.

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But through 73 games this year, the Stars are in a different spot. After defeating the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, Dallas improved to 38-29-6 with 82 points. They are 6-2-1 in the month of March and haven’t lost more than two games in a row since mid-February.

The win helped the Stars further solidify their hold on the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. In addition, they also kept themselves within two points of the third place spot in the Central division.

But the race isn’t over. With nine games remaining on the schedule, the Dallas Stars are part of a tight race to the finish in the West. With only three spots available, the Stars find themselves stuck in a sprint with the St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago Blackhawks.

The good news is that Dallas currently sits in a playoff spot and has a somewhat comfortable margin to work with. But with important games against desperate opponents on tap in the coming weeks, there’s no room for error.

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For right now, however, the Stars seem to be in a good spot. They have built up an impressive run over the past few weeks, continue using their winning formula, and are keeping pace with the rest of the West. That’s keeping them in a favorable light as well as giving them an opportunity to move up.

As of Thursday morning, the Dallas Stars’ odds of returning to the playoffs look highly favorable. And while each playoff odds calculator comes up with a slightly different answer, each one points to the Stars clinching their first postseason berth since 2016.

Let’s take a look at their odds as of March 21, 2019.

The Athletic – 94 percent chance to make the playoffs, 34 percent chance to advance to the second round, 12 percent chance to advance to the third round, 4 percent chance to advance to Stanley Cup Final, 1 percent chance to win Stanley Cup

Hockey Reference – 95.5 percent chance to make the playoffs, 64.9 percent chance to finish in the wild card, 0.1 percent chance to win Central division, 6.2 percent chance to advance to Stanley Cup Final, 2.1 percent chance to win Stanley Cup

Sports Club Stats – 96.2 percent chance to make the playoffs, 1.4 percent chance to win Stanley Cup

Money Puck – 94.19 percent chance to make the playoffs, 43.5 percent chance to advance to the second round, 18.3 percent chance to advance to the third round, 7.5 percent chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, 3.4 percent chance to win Stanley Cup

As you go down the line and hop from site to site, the odds continue to look promising for the Dallas Stars. Every chance to make the playoffs sits at or above 94 percent. That’s more promising than one week ago, when each of the four sites listed above had the Stars’ playoff odds marked somewhere between 80 and 88 percent.

To make matters even more favorable, the Wild, Avalanche, and Blackhawks (the three teams sitting just outside of the playoff picture) all own odds below 30 percent at the moment.

But there’s no room for complacency. The Stars know that and are treating every game as an important step in the process. That’s a necessary quality for teams in their situation to possess.

Going into Thursday night, the Stars own sole control of the first wild card spot with 82 points and sit just two points back of the St. Louis Blues. The Arizona Coyotes sit in the second wild card seat with 78 points. Trailing just outside of the picture is Minnesota with 77, Colorado with 76, and Chicago with 74. And with every team listed except the Wild in action tonight, there’s plenty of opportunity for shuffling.

If the playoff race ended on Thursday afternoon, the Dallas Stars would take on the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. But if the Stars pick up a win tonight and the Blues lose, Dallas would be set up to play the Nashville Predators in round one. In other words, there’s still plenty to be solved.

The Stars will continue their homestand on Thursday night as they take on the Colorado Avalanche in a pivotal Central division matchup. There’s a chance for both teams to take an impressive step forward in the race with a win, which makes the game all the more important.

The time to check the standings on a daily basis has arrived. And as of Thursday afternoon, the Stars are in a strong spot.

All they have to do now is keep hold of their own destiny.