Dallas Stars Surge To Division Title, Top Seed In West

By Ben Davila | Apr 11, 2016

Apr 2, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (90), left wing Jamie Benn (14) and right wing Patrick Eaves (18) celebrate goal in the first period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

A year after missing the playoffs, the Dallas Stars are streaking into the postseason with a world class offense and improved defense and goaltending.

Having already clinched a playoff berth, the Dallas Stars still faced a pressure packed season finale on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators. A win would lock up the NHL Central Division championship and the top seed in the Western Conference. A loss would leave their fate up to the outcome of the St. Louis Blues’ game against the Washington Capitals.

The Stars came out tentative and gave up the opening goal a mere nineteen seconds into the first period. Had it not been for stellar goaltending from Antti Niemi, the Stars may have been in serious trouble. They were a bit lucky to go into the first intermission down only 1-0.

The second period saw the Stars come out in much better form. For a team that appeared preoccupied thinking about what they had to do in the opening twenty minutes, they came out dictating the pace of play in the second. The arrow appeared to be pointing up.

Nevertheless, the Predators extended to a 2-0 lead 8:23 into the frame. A long night of pearl clutching and scoreboard watching seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

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But just when all seemed lost, the Dallas Stars drew even on the strength of two goals from centerman Jason Spezza. He then completed the hat trick late in the third and propelled the team to a dramatic 3-2 win. While they ultimately did what they needed to do, the Blues cooperated by getting blown out at home, 5-1.

Saturday night’s win sets up a delicious scenario. For one, the Stars are in the playoffs for only the second time in the past eight seasons. Secondly, they now have a massive feather in their cap for having won the murderer’s row known as the NHL Central Division. Lastly, in winning the division, they captured the top seed in the Western Conference and home ice throughout their run on that side of the bracket.

To put all this in perspective, the Dallas Stars finished tenth in the West last year and out of the playoffs. Their ascent this season has been meteoric, and jumping from tenth to first in a matter of twelve months can be attributed to adding the right personnel, coaching, and the improvement of the pieces already in place.

But that’s not to say this season was a cakewalk. Dallas came out white-hot in the first thirty-nine games and established themselves as the class of the league. That was followed by a disastrous January and mediocre February that had a lot of people questioning the Stars’ “for real” factor. To be sure, there was plenty of hand wringing in this space.

In retrospect, though, it’s relatively easy to see that this team was–and may still be–in the process of learning how to deal with success. March and April saw them regain their winning ways and develop a toughness they didn’t have to rely on in the opening half of the campaign.

Since March 1st, the Stars amassed a 12-4-2 record. That was good for capturing twenty-six of the possible thirty-eight points left in the regular season. When you’re posting a .667 winning percentage and grabbing 68.4% of the available points in the six week push to the playoffs, great times are sure to follow.

The good news? The Stars will start on Thursday night against a Minnesota Wild club in which they’ve posted a 4-1-0 regular season record. What may be cause for a little concern, though, is that three of the four wins went to overtime. The Wild match up better against the Dallas Stars than one might think.

Next: Cowboys: Will The Cowboys Re-Sign Troublesome DE?

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In any event, the Dallas Stars are about to embark on a journey in the best championship tournament in all of sports. The die-hard fan base is certainly excited. The bandwagon has plenty of room. Serious fans and casual day trippers alike will be engaging in any measure of superstitions and rituals in order to ensure victory. This is the dawn of the next great era in Stars’ franchise history.

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