The Dallas Stars wrapped up their 2018-19 regular season campaign on a high note on Saturday night. They knocked off the Minnesota Wild 3-0 and will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs on a winning note.
Friday night was a rough one for the Dallas Stars. In their second-to-last game of the 2018-19 season, they paid a visit to a struggling Chicago Blackhawks team and were decisively overpowered in a 6-1 beating.
And though the loss forced their final standing in the Western Conference playoff picture back into question, the Stars were quick to respond. Upon returning home for Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, Dallas hopped out of the gate quickly against a lowly Minnesota Wild team and never looked back.
The Stars secured a dominant 3-0 win over the Wild and did so in front of a sellout crowd. Ben Bishop made franchise history, Tyler Seguin netted two goals, and Dallas finished the season with 43 wins. With that, they will now enter the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a victorious note.
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Game recap
The first period began with plenty of jump from both sides, with both clubs generating plenty of scoring chances in the early portion of the frame. Each team earned a power play opportunity, but neither was able to cash in. And after 20 minutes of speed and action, the score remained tied at 0-0. The shot count was 14-7 in favor of the Stars.
The Dallas Stars quickly set the tone out of the gate in the second period, pouring on a strong offensive attack. They failed to convert on an early power play, but continued to create chances and set a fast pace. Radek Faksa dropped the gloves with Nick Seeler midway through the period after the two escaped from the penalty box. And though the Wild put a puck in the back of the net with 18 seconds remaining, Kelly Forbes and the Stars’ video crew caught an offsides that went uncalled and challenged the goal. It was eventually reversed and the period ended in a 0-0 tie. The shot totals sat at 34-12 in favor of the Stars.
In the third period, the Dallas Stars finally got everything to click. Tyler Seguin scored a power play goal less than three minutes into the frame to break the scoreless tie. Around six minutes later, he tacked on another goal to increase the lead to 2-0. Tyler Pitlick put the final nail in the coffin less than four minutes later with a goal on the rebound. With that, the Stars wrapped up a 3-0 victory to close out their regular season slate.
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Thoughts and Observations
It really wasn’t ever close
From the opening puck drop (which, disappointingly enough, was not done by a cow named Mike Moodano), the Dallas Stars held the reins in this game.
They were quicker both with and without the puck, played to their strengths, and took control of the game early on. Their offense was electric, generating 34 shots through two periods. Their defense played with composure and structure, only allowing 12 shots through the first 40 minutes. And when there was an opportunity to take over the game, they snagged it.
“I think we played to our identity, we possessed the puck a lot, and created a lot of good chances,” said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. “It’s kind of bad luck for it to be 0-0 after two, but we stuck with it. Again, playing to our identity and the confidence they have in playing the right way led to a real good third for us. The fun begins now.”
Even when they couldn’t find a goal through two periods of furious pressure, they didn’t panic. The Stars stuck to their winning game plan and found a way to close it out in impressive fashion in the final 20 minutes.
“Absolutely,” Montgomery said about his team staying patient even when the score was tied. “Having patience to trust each other and trust the process that if we continue to play the right way, good things are going to happen. We’ve been doing that for an extended time now.”
It was exactly the kind of game that a team would want to endure before entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“It’s exciting,” said Stars forward Tyler Seguin. “I’m real excited to get started. I’m glad we went out on our own fate tonight. We wanted to go in with a win and stay in our division, so it’s going to be a good opportunity.”
A team with no confidence or motivation vs. a team looking to dominate
Eyes On Isles
Though the Stars put together an impressive and dominant performance, the Wild didn’t necessarily push back in any way.
Minnesota was eliminated from the playoff race on Tuesday night after Dallas and Colorado won, leaving them with nothing more than pride to play for in the final five days. That showed in their play on the ice on Saturday night. The Wild quickly submitted to the Stars’ pace and really gave up on trying to control the flow of the game early in the first period. That led to Dallas surging ahead and taking control.
By the end of the second period, the Wild had just 12 shots on goal and didn’t have much to boast in terms of quality chances. They wrapped up their 2018-19 season without a goal, only 24 shots on net, an 0-2 performance on the power play, and a 2-3 showing on the penalty kill while Alex Stalock did everything in his power to keep an unenthused team in front of him in the fight.
This will be the Wild’s first time since the 2011-12 season to miss the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Saturday night, that realization was prevalent.
Big Ben back and better than ever
For the past four games, the Dallas Stars have played without starting goaltender Ben Bishop. After tweaking a lingering lower-body injury in the game against Calgary on March 27, Bishop took on a “day-to-day” status as he tried to get back to full health before the beginning of the playoffs.
On Saturday night, he was able to get back in the net for one final regular season game before postseason action begins. And in his final start, he didn’t disappoint.
“Good,” said the Dallas goaltender. “It’s nice to get back in there and I felt good. I really don’t think I missed much of a beat.”
SenShot
Bishop stopped all 24 shots faced and posted his seventh shutout of the season. While there weren’t many high-quality scoring opportunities against, he was there to stop everything that Minnesota threw towards him.
“He’s just been phenomenal,” Montgomery said. “We’re lucky because not only is he maybe the top goalie in the league right now, but Khudobin is one of the top five. That’s why we finished second in the Jennings. Bish is just in a zone, and let’s hope it goes for eight more weeks.”
And just like that, no. 30 capped off a career-best season. He posted career-highs in save percentage (.934) that is also the best save percentage in Stars’ franchise history , goals against average (1.98) and shutouts (7). He wraps up the 2018-19 season with a 27-15-2 record and will likely be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded annually to the league’s most valuable goaltender.
“It’s nice,” Bishop said about getting one more start in before the playoffs. “I don’t think it was do-or-die, but it feels good to get a game there and it’s just fun to play hockey again. I felt good and it was nice to get the win and get ready for game one.”
Bishop looked dominant and confident in the crease on Saturday night and will now enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016.
But Stalock was lights out, too
We’d be remiss to not point out the heroic efforts made by Alex Stalock in the other crease.
Stalock put on a clinic for the Wild, stopping 41/44 and keeping an ailing Minnesota offense tied through two periods. He made some incredible stops on some of the Stars’ better shooters and helped keep a Dallas power play scoreless through its first two attempts.
“Yeah, a good goalie,” Seguin said about Stalock’s play following the game. “We had a lot of shots on net and a lot of offensive opportunities, and we still didn’t play our best. We knew that, but we’re just happy to get the two points on our own terms and secure that wild card spot. We look forward to going to Nashville.”
An impressive opening jump for a back-to-back
After getting rocked in Chicago on Friday night, it would have been easy for the Dallas Stars to let their poor performance translate to Saturday’s contest.
Instead, the Stars were quick out of the gate. And even though they couldn’t score a goal in the first period for the 40th time this season, you could tell that they had their foot on the gas. The Dallas offense was pouring it on while the defense and goaltending played another confident game.
Pucks and Pitchforks
That confidence and energy helped Dallas take control of the game from the opening puck drop. And when they finally broke through on the scoreboard early in the third period, they didn’t stop their push until the final horn. That confidence will only carry over to game one with them.
“I wouldn’t say perfect,” Bishop said about the team’s overall performance. “There was some room for improvement. Obviously, we found a way to win. We had some opportunities in the first and second and we played well. Just the resilience to stick with it and find a way to get the puck in the net and then obviously to extend the lead. It’s a tough game to play when there’s not much on the line, but I thought we did a good job and we had a lot of chances to score. The guys did a good job of stepping up and putting them up in the third.”
Faksa keeps the emotion and intensity alive
Radek Faksa is known as one of the Stars’ more physical and defensive forwards, but he isn’t necessarily the most common fighter.
That’s what made his bout with Nick Seeler during the second period of Saturday’s game so intriguing and entertaining.
Faksa and Seeler initially got tied up in front of the net after a puck was frozen and were both sent to the box on offsetting minors. Upon exiting the box, the two met near center ice and duked it out in a high-spirited and emotional fight.
In a game that didn’t carry a ton of weight for either squad, this was definitely one of the highlights. When the Dallas Stars needed a boost of energy, Faksa was there to pitch in.
What could’ve been a goal, but wasn’t
As crazy as it sounded at the time and would still sound after the game, there was a point where the Stars were behind in the game.
With just 18 seconds to go in the second period, the Wild put a puck past Ben Bishop and grabbed a 1-0 lead, even with a 20-shot deficit against them. But as Minnesota began to celebrate breaking the scoreless tie, the Dallas Stars called for a challenge.
Causeway Crowd
And, upon further review, it was determined that the Wild had been offsides prior to the puck entering the offensive zone. The score remained at 0-0 heading into second intermission and set the stage for the Stars to take control in the final period.
“Real confident and we could see it,” said Montgomery about the challenge. “That one was pretty evident.”
Yet another hat tip to Kelly Forbes and the Dallas Stars video crew on a good eye.
Stars fans were out in full force
18,532. That was the announced attendance for Saturday night’s game between the Stars and Wild. In other words, it was a sellout at the AAC.
And while there may have been an empty seat here and there, it both felt and sounded like a sellout crowd. Stars fans were loud, energized, and active throughout the entire game. The cheers were loud, fans were out of their seats for different parts of the game, and every goal came with a ceremonial “DALLAS. STARS.” chant that reverberated throughout the American Airlines Center.
“You could sense it,” Monty mentioned about the fans. “They were loud and the energy was great. I can’t wait until we have our first home game, but two games in Nashville first. When we come home, we know it’s going to be a zoo here.”
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This is a fanbase that has been starved of a berth in the playoffs for two long years. In 2016-17, the expectations were high with the Stars coming off of a Central division title in the season prior. In 2017-18, Dallas had 82 points through 65 games and looked to be a shoo-in for postseason action. The Stars ended up failing to qualify for the playoffs in both of those instances, giving way to three years of anxious waiting for Stars fans.
“They’re excited and we owe them a lot,” Seguin added during the postgame. “We have very faithful fans and great fans. I can’t wait to hear this place in the playoffs.”
The Dallas Stars are still postseason bound
With game 82 now in the rearview mirror, the entire 2018-19 regular season has been put to bed.
And now, the focus shifts to the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Dallas Stars and 15 other NHL clubs. It’s an entirely new journey with heightened suspense, expectations, and excitement.
“It’s a whole new season,” Seguin said. “The emotions are higher, the hits are harder, and the goals have bigger celebrations. It’s the best time of the year.”
“Playoffs are a different story and we need to be ready,” said Stars defenseman Roman Polak. “I don’t know how many in here have actually played in the playoffs because it’s been a long time for them. So, hopefully they are going to enjoy it and are going to be ready.”
And what all goes into planning for this new journey, especially for a head coach in his first year at the NHL level?
“As a staff, we’ll pore over video tomorrow and have our meeting ready for Monday,” said Montgomery. “It’s going to be something like defensive structure without the puck on Monday and penalty kill, Tuesday will be offensive structure with the puck game planning and power play, and Wednesday let’s get after it.”
Predlines
Up next: Smashville
For the last few days, the Dallas Stars have anxiously waited to find out the identity of their first round opponent. And when Thursday night’s games didn’t help clear up the mess, the Stars had to wait until the final day of the regular season to find out.
But now, the sights are set on the Nashville Predators, who wrapped up their second consecutive Central division title on Saturday night.
“They’re a good team and they’ve got lots of experience in the playoffs,” said Polak. “We just need to be ready, play our game, and we’ll be fine.”
“They’re a good team,” added Bishop. “Obviously, they’re a good team that has the experience. We had no control of who we were going to play and I think every team we had the possibility of playing is a good team. So, we have to do our homework and get ready for them. Obviously, it’s a fun place to play. So, just get ready and bring ’em on.”
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This opening series is setting up to be a fun one. With a raucous and entertaining five-game series played between the Stars and Predators this season and the 2020 Winter Classic looming in the distant future, the bar is set for a thrilling best-of-seven series.
“We knew any team we were going to play is a good team,” said Seguin. “We’re obviously the underdogs and Nashville is one of, if not the best team in the NHL. I’m looking forward to getting to work and real excited to get there.”
All wrapped up
The Dallas Stars close out their 2018-19 regular season campaign with a record of 43-32-7 and 93 points. They sit in the first wild card spot and now set their sights on the Nashville Predators. Here comes the postseason.
“The regular season is over and it’s all a wash now,” said Bishop. “It’s time to get ready for game one.”