Stars Reach Playoffs for 4th Time in 5 Seasons

It took until the third day in April, but the Central Division, my Central Division, finally has official playoff teams. Only three games took place on a Monday evening centered around the first Raw after WrestleMania, as well as NCAA basketball's National Championship. Two of them featured teams who could clinch spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and both teams fulfilled their duties. The Dallas Stars' first chance to lock in a spot occurred on April 1, but their loss to the Colorado Avalanche forced them to wait a few days. Their next opportunity came on April 3, against a lowly Nashville Predators team that was suffering and riddled with injuries. Of course, the Stars pounced; a 5-1 victory over the Preds, and it placed Dallas in the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.

Dallas' current stretch began in the 2018-19 season, which saw them reach the playoffs at a Wild Card. That year's playoffs saw all four Wild Cards advance, and regarding the Stars, they fell one win short of the Western Conference Final; a double overtime loss in a Game Seven that saw Ben Bishop stand on his head but get no support. The COVID-affected 2019-20 season actually saw the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final, and there were questions regarding what they would do after that long run in the bubble. Unfortunately, the shortened 2020-21 season saw Dallas miss the playoffs, but this past season, they returned as a Wild Card. Dallas competed in a hotly contested seven game series against the Calgary Flames, but it ended with an overtime loss in a Game Seven that saw Jake Oettinger stand on his head but get no support. I've heard this song before.

I want to talk about Jake Oettinger, because I love goalies. In the Game Seven loss to the Flames in last year's Pacific Division Semifinal, Oettinger (nicknamed "Otter") had 64 saves. Sixty-four saves! But he lost. Why? Simple. The Stars couldn't score. Have things improved this year? I'd say a 3.39 goals for average is an improvement. It's a half goal increase from last year, and it ranks 8th in the NHL. As for Oettinger, he is 33-11-11 with a 2.47 GAA, a .917 SV%, and four shutouts. Stellar numbers, which isn't a surprise; Oettinger's one hell of a goalie.

Jason Robertson is high on my fantasy hockey wish list for next season. He was amazing last year and he's become beastly this season. Robertson had four points in Dallas' playoff clinching win against Nashville, and that performance moved him past the century mark in points--he has 101 (43 G/58 A). He is an absolute marvel for the team, but there's one problem: he doesn't have much help. Robertson leads the team in points, but it's by a whole lot. The closest total behind him is 73, and that belongs to Jamie Benn, while Joe Pavelski is a close third with 72 points. Roope Hintz is second on the team in goals with 34, but he doesn't even have 70 points. As usual, Miro Heiskanen leads Dallas blueliners with 68 points (11 G/57 A).

The lack of scoring depth is one problem Dallas has. They also have a second: they cannot win past regulation. Dallas needed to go past regulation (OT/SO) 21 times this season, and they've lost an even two-thirds of those games. Even worse, out of their fourteen OT/SO losses this season, eleven of them were in the overtime period! If you can't win in overtime, you are not going anywhere. The Stars' 2019 and 2022 playoff runs ended with overtime losses. Also, will that 3+ goals per game offense show up in the playoffs, or will Oettinger have to stand on his head yet again? We will see in a couple of weeks.

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