The Stars’ season is knocking on death’s door. They now have a mountain to climb after dropping the most critical of the season in Game 3.
A 3-0 series deficit is not impossible to come back from, but it may as well be.
The wheels came off the wagon as the situation deteriorated throughout Game 3. Jamie Benn took an uncharacteristic Game Misconduct, and the situation dampened after that. The Stars have soiled the bed in this series when they could’ve been up 2-0 after two overtime losses. Now they are fighting for their playoff lives and must win 4 in a row to survive.
Disastrous Game 3
Ships cannot sink faster than the Stars did in Game 3. Vegas scored the game-winning goal, and Jamie Benn took an undisciplined penalty inside the first 2 minutes. Benn cross-checked a defenseless Mark Stone on the ice and left the game. Vegas scored on the major powerplay and then again shortly after.
Oettinger got the boot over 7 minutes into the game. Benn’s completely unnecessary penalty may cost him to sit out Game 4 as well or even longer, as the league will discipline him. The Stars outshot Vegas by a 2-1 margin, but that made no difference in the 4-0 loss.
Missed Chances in Games 1 and 2
The Stars could have been up 2-0 as Vegas did. Both of the first games went to overtime. The Stars blew a lead late in a Game 2 that they should have won. Vegas won again in overtime. Overtime losses are the theme for the Stars this year.
They are 0-4 in the playoffs, with another 14 losses in the regular season. It’s overtime that has the Stars in a less than fortuitist state down 0-3.
Chances of a Comeback
Success rates of winning a series after down 0-3 are less than 2%. Only 4 teams completed this feat in NHL history, with the last one being the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. It can happen but not likely after that Game 3 performance. They’ll have to solve their goal-scoring problems from everyone on the team if they want to win this series. The Stars are now 8-8 in the playoffs and in danger of finishing the playoffs at 8-9. Whatever the Stars are doing, it’s not working in this series.
The Stars have an impossible mountain to climb if they want to make it to the Stanley Cup Final. Game 4 is on Thursday, with their season on the line. No Stars fan is looking forward to it. At this point, just avoid the sweep and try to do something in Game 5.
Photo: Dallas Stars/Twitter
