The Texas Stars concluded their regular season on April 19th and did not play until April 29th. Sometimes rest is good, but I wonder if the opportunity to keep active and engaged with professional hockey by playing actual games would be more beneficial to a team like Texas than being happy “earning” the first-round “bye.” Either way, Texas had to prove that they were ready to play, and they did so in Game 1 of their Calder Cup playoff run with early positives on the goal-scoring front.
Four minutes into the game, Kyle Capobianco scored Texas's first playoff goal four minutes into the game. Curtis McKenzie followed up three minutes later with a great pass off the rush from Matej Blumel. The Texas Stars were up to speed despite the long break, up 2-0 by the end of the first period.
In the second period, Kole Lind received a pass in the bumper position from Matej Blumel on the Power Play and scored, and made it 3-0, followed by an Emilio Pettersen goal three minutes later. By the end of the 2nd period, it was 4-0 Texas, and despite some pushback from Grand Rapids, Remi Poirier was perfect in the net. Poirier opened the 2024-2025 playoffs with a shutout, setting the tone with the team playing well in a 4-0 win. This was a fantastic start to the playoffs.
Player of the week: Matej Blumel
Week Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Playoff Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Overall, Texas secured a clean 4-0 victory, with good goaltending and aggressive offense to combat a tough team like Grand Rapids. Don’t expect Game 2 to be the same result, as Grand Rapids will fight back with physicality. This is an excellent test for Texas to work through Grand Rapids’ revenge attempts, where Texas could close out the series as early as Saturday if they sweep. Either way, it will be exciting hockey to watch.
Week ahead:
- Fri May 9, 2025 vs. Grand Rapids
- Sat May 10, 2025 vs. Grand Rapids