The Dallas Stars are the most mediocre team in the NHL. They are in a horrible funk that they must get out of. As in the HBO Miniseries Chernobyl (2019), “not great, not terrible.” Why do I say this as a Stars fan? The Stars are 15th out of the 30 teams that played from 2010-11 to now with a 401-305 record. The Los Angeles Kings have a 402-305 but won 2 Stanley Cups in that span. This recent loss against the Chicago Blackhawks may have solidified their fate of another missed playoff spot. Fans are frustrated as to where the team is at and something needs to change.
The Stars got lucky in winning the 3rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, moving up from 8th. Miro Heiskanen is a franchise-altering defenseman that fell into the Stars lucky pot of gold whenever the Detroit Red Wings logo came up in 9th instead of theirs. This was all the luck the Stars got in the last decade. Between 2010 and now, the Stars qualified for the playoffs 4 times and missed 7. The Stars were never in last so they didn’t get a good draft pick after not tanking. All those years of missed playoffs by a few points may have hurt them long term.
The Chicago Blackhawks will take the 4th and final spot in the Central unless the Stars go on a winning streak. The loss last night to them dealt a crippling blow, knocking the Stars under .500 again. Trades need to happen in the offseason should they fail to get in the top 4. This past loss against the Blackhawks means they are 3-1 against the Stars. This is the team that sits in the final playoff spot so the Stars need more wins against this them. The Stars are 12 points behind them with 6 games in hand so it could come down to the wire for the playoffs.
Last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final was a miracle where everything went right except for the ending. Remember they were 12 seconds from being down 3-1 in the First Round series against the Calgary Flames. They were also 1 goal away from blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Colorado Avalanche. It will take a hot run for the Stars to even get to a 4th place seed in the playoffs. In contrast to the run, everything seems to be going wrong.
Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov missing time is hurting the team. The Stars’ record with Radulov in the lineup is much better than without. He is one of the rocks that this team needs along with Seguin. The question of when Seguin is coming back is in the minds of every Stars fan. Hopefully, he will be back this season alongside Bishop. These players are needed to get out of the funk.
The 8-9-5 Stars need to get their stuff in gear, pronto. Missing the playoffs after making it to the Stanley Cup Final is unacceptable with this team. Little time remains with a shortened season. It is possible to make the playoffs but a heavy win streak is needed. In a previous article, I mentioned that it may be time to panic but it may not be the case if they can string together some more wins. The bigger picture is to just qualify 4th or higher, which remains on the table.
Photo: Dallas Stars / Twitter
