Is the Dallas Stars schedule conducive for a playoff run

Currently the Dallas Stars find themselves in fifth place in the Central Division with 48 points. They trail the St. Louis Blues by nine points for fourth place and are 12 points behind second place. However, they’re 20 points behind the Avalanche who lead the division.

So the division doesn’t look like something that the Stars are going to tackle. The could potentially climb into the top three. Remember the way the playoffs work is the top three in each division make the playoffs and then the next two best teams are the Wild Card.

So let’s look at that scenario for the Dallas Stars. As it stands right now the Blues and Calgary Flames are the two wild card teams. Edmonton is the 3rd team and then the Stars are sitting in the fourth spot in the Wild Card race.

How does the schedule effect the Dallas Stars

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Dallas Stars still have almost half their schedule to play. They’re about to play the stretch of games that are makeup games from the COVID delays in December. The NHL opting to use the Olympic break for this since the teams are not playing in the Olympics.

Their first eight games right out of the gate are against Central Division foes. However, only 14 of their remaining games are against Central division opponents. That means it’s crucial to get points in the next eight games.

Eleven of their games are against the eastern conference. Obviously if you lose those games or tie, you’re not giving away points to possible playoff rivals. The thing is you have games against New Jersey, the Islanders, Buffalo, and Montreal. Those are all teams that are out of the playoffs in the east, and therefore should be perfectly winnable.

If the Dallas Stars want to be a playoff contender, they’re going to need to win those games.

The rest of the schedule is against the Pacific division. While you have games against playoff teams like the Kings, Vegas and Anaheim, there are a handful of games against non-playoff teams.

San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton and Seattle are all on the schedule. Like the Eastern Conference opponents, these are games you should win. Especially if you believe yourself to be a playoff team.

The Dallas Stars may have a hard time slipping into the playoffs with a divisional spot, but they’re only four points out of the final Wild Card. Dallas has a lot of winnable games coming up on their schedule. It will be up to them to finish those games and get to the playoffs.

Second half starts today. Hang on because this could be a fun ride.

• Published on 02/09/2022 at 12:44 PM
• Last updated at 02/09/2022 at 12:44 PM