The Dallas Stars have clinched playoffs for the first time since 2016!
It’s been a long battle for the Dallas Stars this season as they’ve fought to put themselves in playoff contention. The team has gone on a roller coaster up and down all season through scoring droughts and winning streaks.
As a team, resilience has been the key, never getting down on themselves for what the team has fought through.
With only 2 games remaining, let’s look back at how the Stars performed, stats wise, during this long and trying season.
The First 10 Games
To start the season, the Stars went 5-5-0 in the first 10. They sent 335 shots to the goal and 30 of those shots went in. Opposing teams sent 293 shots to the goalies but only 29 slid past Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin.
On the ice, the team was controlling the puck, achieving a for a percentage of 50.2%. It’s not astoundingly high but it is a great place to be in the first 10 games. The power play was a strong point at a 28.57% conversion rate with 8 power plays on 28 power play opportunities. The Stars’ penalty kill started strong with an 85.72% kill rate.
This was a strong start for the Stars especially following their early exit from the season prior. The next 31 games to the halfway point in the season brought new challenges that proved character and brought the team together.
The First Half
The Stars fought a great battle into the 2nd half. With comments from the front office, scoring droughts from top players and a million injuries, the Stars battled through and pulled put a record of 21-16-4 after 41 games, just about .500. The team scored 113 goals for on 1,245 shots on goal and 110 goals were scored against with 1,296 shots against.
The team began losing control of the puck more, their corsi for dropped to 47.1%. The power play dropped to a 20.95% conversion rate with 22 power play goals on 105 power play opportunities. The penalty kill continued on strong at an 82.54 penalty kill rate with 22 power play goals against on 126 penalties against.
Although the team slowed here, the Stars never got down on themselves. There was never a point that they said: “we’re not producing because there are all of these things happening to us.” Instead, the team took a positive route, remained optimistic, and pushed themselves to perform better into the final stretch.
Where We Are Now
Now the Stars are 80 games in, with just two games remaining. The Stars are 42-31-7, two games over .500. The Stars have snagged 206 goals for on 2,440 shots on goal. The opponents have scored 196 goals against in 2,535 shots against.
In the final stretch, the team was able to improve their puck control, giving them a corsi for a percentage of 48.5%. The power play remained about the same with a 20.48% conversion rate, 43 power play goals in their 210 opportunities. As for the penalty kill, the Stars are at an 82.40% penalty kill rate which is about 2% above the leagues average.
The Stars have done their best to get themselves into playoffs and have had to battle forever point the team needed. This season has been a storyline that has been entertaining to watch and there is just one perfect way to end the season.
Featured Image: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
