What does late playoff push mean for Dallas Stars?
The Ottawa Senators cannot be the only team to come from the depths of mediocrity and make an unbelievable run to the playoffs. There has to be another squad that can make a postseason race a little more interesting.
With the Kings and Sharks swooning in the Western Conference, it’s time for a new team to step up and try to get closer to the Wild Card. Why not the Dallas Stars?
Wait, the super disappointing Dallas Stars? Yes, the Stars that are actually red hot. They’re 7-2-0 in their last nine games. They’re eight points back of Winnipeg with 10 games to go – which is a lot, but whatever. Dallas also doesn’t play the Jets at all the rest of the season. But there’s still 20 points up for grabs, so let’s make a case for Dallas.
From the Dallas Morning News:
The Stars hope to keep that roll going when Buffalo visits Monday. While the Stars can look at all sorts of charts that measure their playoff odds, they know that there is only one positive solution to their dilemma.
“At this point, we’ve just gotta win,” (defenseman Alex) Goligoski said. “We’ve got to win the next game, we’ve got to win the one after that. We just have to win.”
Strangely, everything is coming up right for Dallas of late. By everything, that would be Kari Lehtonen, who had been extremely mediocre for the longest time for the Stars and is now back to playing like his normal old self.
Also from the Morning News:
In recent weeks, however, Lehtonen has found his groove and is among the league’s hottest goalies. He’s on a 5-1-0 roll with a 1.67 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, and he posted a 33-save shutout over Chicago on Saturday.
As the story also pointed out, Lehtonen was a walking, winning contradiction. He has 31 wins, yet his season save percentage is at .908 and goals against average is at 2.82.
But is it Lehtonen or is it the Stars defense that has tightened up? Dallas has been a putrid defensive team. The only worse defensive squads in the NHL (Toronto, Arizona, Buffalo and Edmonton) are fighting it out for the worst record in the NHL.
Over their last six games, the Stars have averaged just 1.67 goals allowed per contest. Considering Dallas’ shortcomings on D – Goligoski is probably their best blueliner – it’s probably more Lehtonen.
Per Defending Big D:
Again, can't emphasize goaltending enough. Kari stopped a breakaway, a penalty shot, and an odd-man rush or two, not to mention the various shots he found through screens. Any one of those could have turned the tide of this game, but Kari Lehtonen was Kari Lehtonen last night. What a sight to see. He looked like he could have stopped anything and everything.
From the Morning News again:
“When he’s playing like this, it gives all six defensemen a lot more confidence; and obviously, it just transfers up to the forwards,” said defenseman Jordie Benn.
This seems to happen with a lot of groups that make big changes in the offseason. Normally by the end you figure it out, and by then it’s too late. Last season’s Nashville Predators weren’t a playoff threat at all, picked up points in 11 of their last 12 games and only finished three points out of the postseason. Before the streak they were 29-31-10.
But if anything, this season has showed Dallas what it needs this summer -- namely better defense. Also, Dallas hasn't been bad puck possession wise this year per the NHL's enhanced stats site. The Stars' are a plus-187 on shot attempts differential, which puts them 12th in the league.
As far as the Stars go, there is that pesky Sports Club Stats thing, which lists Dallas’ playoff odds at 1.4 percent. So there is a chance … and if Dallas goes 10-0-0 the rest of the way, that increases to 82.5 percent. No big deal. Piece of cake, right? If not, there’s always the draft lottery.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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