Hockey approaches next month as the constant 100-degree Texas days are coming to an end. Hockey fans are trying to fill the time between seasons. The Dallas Stars have lots of history over their nearly 30 years in Dallas. We’ve covered some good and bad memories over the last few weeks. Playoff Game 7 losses are going to sting a lot more but there have been plenty of bad games in the regular season too. We are going to take a look at some of those memories today.
Dallas @ Edmonton: 6-5 SOW January 4, 2007
This game always and forever will be the game that effectively ended Patrik Štefan’s infamous career. The 1999 1st overall draft pick had one of the biggest blunders in NHL history. Missing on an empty net breakaway with 10 seconds left while the Oilers skated all the way down to score afterwards is still on highlight reels. Stars fans are not particularly fond of this memory. A win is in the worst regular season moments because of the implications. Forget the shootout win and never mind the Stars’ 4-1 comeback. This game is now one of the worst moments knowing what we know 15 years later.
Patrik Štefan missing the empty net caused the Chicago Blackhawks to draft Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks won the draft lottery after tying the Oilers in points. The Oilers got 1 point from this game but had they not, then they would have won the lottery.
Dallas @ Minnesota: 5-3 L April 10, 2011
The last time the Stars made the playoffs before this game was in 2008. The Stars still found themselves in the hunt for a playoff in the final game of the regular season in 2011. They only needed a single win while down by 2 points to the #8 Blackhawks. A 3-2 lead evaporated into a 5-3 loss which ended any chance of hope at the playoffs. This is a bad moment because it would be 3 more years before they got a chance at the playoffs again. This was the middle of their longest playoff drought.
Dallas @ Los Angeles: 5-4 L February 12, 2006
Remember the time when teams would play their division opponents 8 times per season? That was the NHL back then. The Stars and Kings had some wild affairs during those years. One year the Stars were 2-6 against the Kings, the next year was a perfect 8-0. A team should win a game up 5-2 but not the Stars on that day. A 5-2 lead in the 3rd quickly turned into a 6-5 loss. This memory is one that Stars fans may not remember but it’s still one of the blown leads that is a little too familiar.
There are plenty of other bad moments but these are a few that come to mind. Hockey season is coming up and finding ways to pass the time can be difficult. Other bad moments include every time getting eliminated from playoff contention. Stars hockey will return this month with preseason games and then it’s time to make more memories, good or bad.
