Watch out! Dallas Stars generating a little of that 2020 bubble mojo

The online salt and vinegar that accompanied the Dallas Stars all regular season seems to have subsided a bit. Funny how a couple of playoff wins can change that narrative. But that’s exactly what’s happened to the Stars in the wake of their 4-2 win in Game 3 of their first round series against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.

Further, there was a list of hockey pundits that picked Calgary to stroll through this series with ease. You might’ve seen it. In any case, that storyline has already been turned completely on its head by a Stars’ team that is once again showing how playoff ready they likely were this whole time.

The Dallas Stars have turned an uneven regular season into an opportunity.

Look, nothing’s settled. I get that. But anyone with a reasonable temperament can see that the NHL playoffs are a different animal when compared to the regular season. The 82-game campaign–with all its ebbs and flows–pretty quickly devolves into a two-month war of wills to determine their champion. I’ve always called it “Hockey To The Death” with the utmost respect and admiration. There’s simply nothing like it.

It’s early, no doubt, but behind the stellar goaltending from their 23-year-old netminder Jake Oettinger and some turn-back-the-clock goal scoring from center Joe Pavelski, the Dallas Stars have puckered more than a few orifices north of the border in Alberta, Canada.

You see, the Flames were supposed to play around with their food en route to whichever second round matchup was in their future. Of course, that could still be the case. The road to the Stanley Cup is a fickle creature. Pucks catch grooves in the ice which makes weird bounces bounce weirdly. Tides turn. Attrition can rear its ugly head. In other words, a 2-1 series lead is anything but safe.

But the Dallas Stars have thus far shown us that, when fully engaged and on their game, they can do more than hang with the second seeded Flames. They can win. Nothing about this series has indicated that Calgary is an appreciably better team. Dallas landed the first punch on Saturday, and then stormed back from a 2-1 deficit to claim victory in front of a stentorian and fawning home ice congregation.

And let me tell you something. I went to games in the old barn, Reunion Arena. It was an amazing hockey venue. Small-ish lower bowl, no “platinum level” suites, smaller upper deck, flat roof bouncing all the noise right down onto the surface. Every seat felt like it was right on top of the ice. That place could get unbelievably loud. I saw the band Rush there a few times and found religion outright.

I wasn’t in the building on Saturday night, but the house mics struggled to modulate when the Stars scored. The fans at the AAC were the loudest I’ve ever heard them. I can’t imagine what it was like to be there in person. It was the first Stars’ playoff game there in over a thousand days, and it felt as cathartic as I can ever remember.

It was like that particular crowd had been waiting through all the uneven times to let out all the venom they hadn’t been able to during the 2020 Covid bubble. The team responded and elevated in kind. Calgary’s going to be in survival mode tonight, as well they should be. But if the Dallas Stars can harness that home ice mojo once again, there’s every reason to believe that they can head back to Canada for Game 5 with a chance to close this series out.