All season long, the Dallas Stars have had a reoccurring weakness. It prevented them from finishing first in the central division. As well as lingered into the postseason, costing them multiple games. That problem is being unable to complete a game with a win past 60 minutes.
Could the Stars or their fans no longer say it was a three-on-three or a shootout issue? They’ve lost five on five past the third period too.
Losing Record Past 60
After 82 games this season, the Stars finished the season with a 4-14 record past 60 minutes. Those 14 losses came from overtime and the shootout combined, and that’s 22 points out of a possible 36 in the standings.
There is a flip side to losing this many games after the third period. Dallas was better able to secure the central division’s second seed and home ice for the first round of the playoffs. So not all of the points were left on the table with that many OT appearances.
OT Struggles Continued
Troubles past 60 minutes did not stop in April. Game one of the first and second rounds put the Stars behind the eight ball with losses after regulation too. They were losing to the Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken, respectively. Not even a four-goal game from Joe Pavelski could stop the bleeding.n Thankfully, the Stars put in enough 60-minute effort to advance to round three.
Adding to the injury, the Stars would drop the first two games of the west finals to Vegas, in which both games went past regulation. Both games were decided in a few minutes, and they were leading up to game three, where the Golden Knights didn’t need OT to win.
Turning the Corner?
While Dallas has struggled the past 60 minutes all year, they’ve shown they can turn the tide. Facing a sweep, the Stars did the unthinkable; winning in overtime.
Pavelski extended the Stars’ season with a win on home ice on Thursday, May 25th.
Now Dallas sits one win away from a game 7, and head coach Pete DeBoer is certainly believing.
“We don’t have much choice but to believe in it, right? That’s where we’re at,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Friday. “I do believe in it, and I think there’s always a team that puts itself in this spot and climbs out of it. Doesn’t happen all the time, but it happens enough that why not us?”
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