Dallas Stars Take On Winnipeg Jets In Potential First Round Preview
The final push to the playoffs continues for the Dallas Stars tonight as they open up a four-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets. They will be hunting for their first win in Winnipeg in quite a while and will also see how they fare in what could be a first round preview.
Seven games separate the Dallas Stars from the end of the 2018-19 regular season. And at this point in the year, every game means more than the last one. That’s the situation that the Stars find themselves in at the moment.
After posting a 1-3-1 record on their most recent homestand and falling short of valuable points, the Stars are in a tight spot. They sit one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, three points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, and six points back of the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference playoff race.
With all that being said, however, they still own sole control of the top wild card spot in the West. As the playoff race continues to heat up, Dallas has found a way to hold their ground and pick up points at different times (as well as getting some help from other teams slipping).
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But the race isn’t over. And with 12-14 points still on the table for the Stars and the teams around them to grab, anything can happen.
That’s what makes the four-game road trip so important for the Dallas Stars. If they can knock off a few Western Conference foes and pick up some valuable points, just enough may happen in their favor to get them into the postseason. A few losses, however, could further cloud up their odds.
And so, the trip begins tonight in Winnipeg against a Jets team that currently sits first in the Central division standings. Kicking off the trip in Winnipeg is almost poetic for a few different reasons.
On the one hand, this is a game that the Dallas Stars need. With the Wild and Blues playing tonight and the Coyotes playing tomorrow, there’s an opportunity for the Stars to either get ahead, hold their ground, or fall behind. Two points would be a sizable boost for Dallas.
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But they will have to find a way to steal a win in an arena that has been unkind to them over the past few seasons.
The Stars are looking for their first win at Bell MTS Place in over three years. Their last victory came in a 5-3 decision back on Feb. 23, 2016. Antti Niemi helped Dallas pick up the win in that game and further enhance their lead on first place in the Central division and Western Conference. In other words, it’s been a while.
Since then, the Stars are a combined 0-6-0 when visiting Winnipeg and have been outscored 31-10 in the process. That includes a 5-1 loss to the Jets back on Jan. 6, 2019.
Winnipeg currently owns one of the best home ice records in the NHL at 25-9-4 and will look to tack on a seventh consecutive victory against Dallas at Bell MTS Place.
But that’s where the Dallas Stars can rise to the challenge and break out of a discouraging skid. The Stars had their fair share of struggles on the road through the first half of the 2018-19 season, but have since picked up the pace. They currently own a four-game winning streak in road games and have won five of their past six contests away from home. A win tonight could be huge in not only breaking the skid, but also keeping up their hot streak on the road as the push to the playoffs continues.
And that’s where another important factor comes into play. With the Stars currently sitting in the first wild card spot, they would take on the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if the postseason began today. Assuming Dallas qualifies, it’s likely that they would draw the Jets in round one.
That’s a tough matchup out of the gate. Although the Stars currently own the 2-1 advantage in the season series, their track record against the Jets (especially in Winnipeg) isn’t promising.
With that being said, they have an opportunity to prove themselves and build up confidence against a strong divisional foe before the postseason begins and the games start to matter even more.
The Jets own one of the best offenses and power play units in the NHL, while the Stars own one of the top defenses and penalty kill units in the league. Dallas is 12-9-2 in divisional play, while Winnipeg is 12-10-0.
The stage is set for a gritty Central showdown. The Dallas Stars are trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak since mid-February. To do so, they will have to get a rare win in a tough building against a high-caliber opponent trying to keep hold of their own spot in the playoff race. Valuable points are on the line as the Western Conference playoff race awaits its next shakeup.
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A potential first round preview will be in the making on Monday night. How will the Stars measure up?
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Manitoba.