The Winnipeg Jets burned the Dallas Stars with a final score of 4-1. The Stars' defense performed poorly against one of the best offenses in the league. With the loss, the Stars are ten points behind the Jets for first place in the Central Division. That's not what the Stars want, as the end of their march schedule is a few weeks away. When you look at their upcoming schedules, the Stars will finish in second place in the Central Division this season.
The Stars would then take on the third-place team in the division in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Right now, that's the Colorado Avalanche. That isn't an ideal playoff opponent, considering how they are playing right now on all cylinders. The Stars will play them tomorrow without Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, and Miro Heiskanen. The Stars are hoping Hintz will be ready to play tomorrow afternoon, but the Stars might keep him home for their upcoming homestand.
The Stars took them on in the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Who could forget Matt Duchene's highlight goal in double overtime of game 6? That will always be remembered for generations to come. With the storyline of Matt Duchene and Mikko Rantanen going up against the Avalanche in the playoffs, that will be absolute cinema, as the kids call it.
However, the Avalanche improved their goaltending and made a trade for Brock Nelson at the deadline. They won't get to take on Alexander Gorgiev this season. This Avalanche team looks a lot tougher than it did last season. You also have to remember the Stars don't know the status of Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen for the first round. I like the Stars' odds of eliminating the Avalanche in the first round if both are healthy and ready to go. However, things look murky after last night's performance and the unknown status of two key players.
You can't forget Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Those two players will shred the mediocre Stars' defense. I hope that the Stars get back Seguin and Heiskanen before the end of the season so they can get a couple of games under their belts before being thrown into the gauntlet known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but the Avalanche is not an ideal first-round opponent for the Stars this season, even with the injuries. We will get a preview of the potential first-round matchup tomorrow afternoon. It will be interesting to see if Mikko Rantanen gets his revenge on the Avalanche tomorrow. As the playoffs are right around the corner, Stars' fans should be bracing for the inevitable matchup between the Stars and the Avalanche.