It’s no secret the runner-up to last year’s Stanley Cup is in trouble to even clinch a playoff berth.
Despite having almost entirely the same personnel.
How could this be? Look no further than their schedule and a lack of rest in between games.
Or no rest.
Players, by and large, want to win games and forego making excuses. They’re competitive, and it’s the honorable thing to do. There will be people who will call out the obvious, such as Stars fans and a head coach who will tell it like it is.
Looking at the standings, no team has had more losses than have come past sixty minutes than the Dallas Stars.
This, too, is directly related to the lack of rest in the schedule compared to the other thirty teams. The Stars would like to be getting wins past regulation.
That would’ve helped them climb the standings too. It’s a domino effect. A compacted schedule leads to a team running on fumes and not being able to close out games, including regulation.
There is a solution that the NHL could’ve applied for teams like the Stars, even the New Jersey Devils, and the Vancouver Canucks, who have had delays in their 56 game schedule as well. Apply point percentage to playoff seeding instead of playing every game scheduled. The league did so with all 31 teams last season. They have their reasons. They decided to forego that possibility this season.
While NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman can argue that the NHL needs revenue in this pandemic, and it is a business. It can also be argued that players are also more prone to injury in a more condensed schedule.
When somebody gets the short end of a stick, it has to be called out.
Featured Image: The Playoffs by Atipici
