Dallas Stars: 2019 Stanley Cup Final Sets Stage For Stars’ Potential

The St. Louis Blues completed the ultimate comeback on Wednesday night by defeating the Boston Bruins to win the 2019 Stanley Cup. And while they proved that no mountain is too tall to climb, they also helped in proving that the Dallas Stars may not be that far off from a championship of their own.

The 2019 Stanley Cup Final presented Dallas Stars fans with a tough decision when it came to choosing allegiances.

On the one hand, the Boston Bruins are one of the NHL’s most polarizing teams in the fact that if a person isn’t a sole fan of the Bruins, they usually don’t like the Bruins. There’s not really a grey area when it comes to cheering for the championship-riddled city of Boston. But on the other hand, the St. Louis Blues are a Central division rival and brought about the Stars’ ultimate demise.

As a result, the Stars’ corner of Twitter was pretty divided as the Final played out over a 17-day span. Debates raged on as fans declared their allegiances and questioned others holding different beliefs.

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And by the time the series ended with a 4-1 win for the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 and their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, the message from Stars fans had changed. Instead of fans being upset that a Central division rival won the Cup, the message had been altered to incorporate the Stars. It sounded something like this:

The Dallas Stars fell one goal short of defeating the eventual Stanley Cup champions in double overtime of Game 7 in the second round. If that isn’t encouragement for the future, I don’t know what is.

And while that’s a unique way to include Dallas in the results of the Stanley Cup Final, it’s also an important reminder for the Stars and the rest of the organization. In all reality, the Dallas Stars did fall one goal short (and a stronger Game 7 effort) of knocking out the 2019 Stanley Cup champions two rounds early.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that if the Stars had scored the series-clinching goal instead of St. Louis, they would be celebrating their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years right now. Don’t forget that they would have only been halfway to the championship had they defeated the Blues. The San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins would still have stood in the Stars’ path, with no guarantee of how things would pan out.

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Even so, it’s still an important fact to remember. The Dallas Stars took on the 2019 Stanley Cup champions in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and fell one goal short of cutting short what turned into a miraculous run to the top.

And it’s more than just that.

Let’s rewind to the second round for a moment. After defeating the Nashville Predators in six games in the opening round, the Stars advanced to round two and squared up against a St. Louis Blues team that had risen from the ashes after a horrendous start to the 2018-19 regular season that had them in last place by Jan. 1, 2019.

Dallas had achieved commendable success against the Blues during the regular season, posting a record of 3-1-0 (including an undefeated 2-0-0 mark on the road) and outscoring them 13-7. That stretch of success had included halting the Blues’ 11-game winning streak in the middle of the year, a Jamie Benn hat trick, and a dominant showing from Ben Bishop in the crease.

But the playoffs are a different animal, and the Blues certainly looked like a different team following their 4-2 series win over the Winnipeg Jets in round one. All in all, it looked to be an intriguing matchup between two unlikely Central division competitors.

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And for the first six games, that’s exactly what became of it. After being stumped by St. Louis in Game 1, Dallas responded with a heavy punch in Game 2 to even the series. Game 3 was an off night for the Stars’ defense and goaltending, while Game 4 provided a turnaround for both in a big Stars win. Game 5 was dominated by Bishop as Dallas took the higher ground with a 3-2 series lead on their way back home. And in Game 6, the Blues staved off elimination to force a series-deciding Game 7 back in St. Louis.

As we know, the deciding Game 7 was controlled by the Blues for the majority of the game. After a 1-1 tie pushed the two teams into first intermission, St. Louis took control and set the pace for the remainder of the game, outshooting Dallas 31-4 in the final two periods. Had it not been for the heroic efforts by Bishop in the crease, the Stars very well may have been blown out in the final game. Instead, they survived and clawed their way to a second overtime, where Jamie Benn came inches away from scoring the clinching goal on a wraparound before Pat Maroon scored on a rebound to finish the game and series.

And while it was a gut-wrenching way to endure elimination at the time, the Stanley Cup Final helped soften the blow in a way.

The Stars came closer to eliminating the St. Louis Blues than any other team did during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They hung with the Blues for much of the series and looked to be on the same level skill-wise. They were outscored by one in the series and held the Blues to two or less goals on four different occasions. For much of the series, it seemed as though neither team had a clear path to the Western Conference Final.

And with all that in mind, there has to be some sort of positive light being shed on the Stars right now. Maybe after years of trial and error and trying to find the right pieces, they finally found something to work with. Maybe they aren’t so far off after all.

With a changed culture in the locker room, a full year of experience now under head coach Jim Montgomery‘s belt, and a strong vision for the future being built by a sturdy roster makeup, this team looks poised to make some noise come the 2019-20 season. And while a lot can happen to further enhance or diminish that in the offseason ahead, it’s something to keep in mind.

After all, they were just one goal short.