Benn’s Scoring Title A Bittersweet Reminder Of What Could Have Been

Save for a smattering of empty seats, the scene at American Airlines Center had a bit of a playoff atmosphere on Saturday night.  Having been eliminated from playoff contention on April 6th, though, The Dallas Stars haven’t had anything to play for other than pride.

To their credit, they rattled off four straight to end the season.  They also tried to mount as much of a playoff push as they could, having won 14 of their last 19 contests.  But as I detailed here, two abhorrent stretches of the season doomed them to miss the Stanley Cup tournament for the sixth time in seven seasons.

To quote play-by-play analyst Ralph Strangis’s pregame comments, this team often had too much sizzle and not enough steak.

Nevertheless, the Stars faithful were out in better-than-decent numbers for the regular season finale vs. the Nashville Predators.  Niche-y as hockey has become in this market, the fan base is knowledgeable and loyal.

The crowd was there to show their support for the team, but also to cheer on Jamie Benn as he sought to become the first Art Ross Trophy winner in franchise history.

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Benn ended up scoring three goals on only four shots, and also chipped-in with an assist.  His four-point night gave him 87 points (35 goals, 52 assists) on the season and allowed him to edge past the New York Islanders’ John Tavares by a solitary point in the 2014-2015 scoring race.

The race wasn’t without a large measure of drama, however, as Benn’s final two points came with only a couple minutes left in the season.  Point 86 was an empty-net tally on what appeared to be nothing more than a cursory clearing attempt from the Stars’ own zone.  The puck found its way past the Predators’ Seth Jones and nestled right in the middle of the goal to give the Stars a 3-1 lead.

Point 87 came with 8.5 seconds remaining when Benn held in a clearing attempt near the Nashville right point and got the puck to Trevor Daly. Daly stormed in on net and found Cody Eakin at the lip of the crease for the tally to finish the rout.

The admittedly fun theatrics of the third period only underscored what has been an up-and-down campaign for this season’s squad. For all of Benn’s heroics on Saturday night, his scoring title is a bittersweet reminder of a season that started with so much optimism from the team, and heightened expectations from a playoff-starved fan base.

The question going into next season will be centered around whether or not Jamie Benn’s well-deserved hardware is harbinger of good fortune to come, or simply a glimmer of optimism that fades into another spring of discontent.

Jamie has largely been everything a team could want in a captain since he earned the “C”.  As soft-spoken as he is in front of the camera, his conduct on the ice conveys scoring prowess, toughness, and a willingness to mix it up against any tough guy in the league.

In other words, there’s a better-than-zero opportunity to witness a “Gordie Howe hat trick” on any given night.  To the uninitiated, that’s a goal, an assist, and a fight all in one game.

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I’m typically not a glass-half-empty type, but this team’s inability to hold on to leads doesn’t bode well for next season.  When one takes into account Kari Lehtonen’s play this year, and then also that he’s under contract for another three years, it’s difficult to see the silver lining that might be ahead for this bunch.

And unless the front office knows something the fans don’t, there isn’t another goalie that’s poised to step in and be the guy moving forward.  While the defense has been mediocre-to-poor, the goalie hasn’t had “that save” in his bag, either, regardless of who’s been between the pipes.

In fact, the opposite has largely been the case.  The Stars can score goals for days, but their problem is that they give up even more.  Soft goals are the rule, not the exception.

The question going into next season will be centered around whether or not Jamie Benn’s well-deserved hardware is harbinger of good fortune to come, or simply a glimmer of optimism that fades into another spring of discontent.

This does nothing to lessen the impact Jamie Benn has had on the Stars this season.  It would’ve been a lot worse without him.  Congratulations, Jamie.  You’ve made Stars Nation proud with your commitment to excellence.

Next: NHL Player Rankings: Biggest disappointments of 2014-2015 season

• Published on 04/13/2015 at 19:30 PM
• Last updated at 04/13/2015 at 13:40 PM