The road to the most coveted prize in sports has been long for the Dallas Stars. Starting off the road to the Stanley Cup, the Stars would have to take out last year’s champ – the Vegas Golden Knights – They did so, in seven games.
Round 2 saw the Dallas Stars facing the prior year’s Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. After seeing Dallas take Vegas out in seven games, fans saw the Avalanche taken down in six. For those that might not realize, that’s two former champions in the first two rounds. Done. 13 games.
Some numbers to put those victories in perspective: Dallas was winless in the season series for the 2023-2024 regular season. That’s one “dragon” the Stars had to slay. Not to mention, the two teams had a playoff battle last year.
The season series with Colorado, as you might’ve guessed, went a little differently. Needless to say, both series victories were hard-fought battles. Colorado was also a team that the Stars had to battle for top spot in the Western Conference. While they had a winning record against Colorado in the regular season, playoffs were and are a different animal. The Stars put Colorado away, as mentioned above, in six games.
What’s Next
Edmonton Oilers. Two dragons down, one in sight.
Standing tall against the likes of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Thomas Hertl, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and a slew of others, the Stars must now go to war against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Evander Kane.
Season Series Winner: Dallas: 2-0-1.
What We Know: Edmonton has a 15-27 record against the Stars (all-time) in the postseason.
Edmonton went 0-4 against Dallas in 1999, when the Stars won the Stanley Cup.
This current iteration of the Oilers are coming off a series in which they forced a Game 7 after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit to win the next two games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane and Evan Bouchard will all bring a unique challenge for the Stars. Bouchard, coincidentally, will present a somewhat new challenge as he’s been mentioned as an emerging star player.
Questions That Will Be Answered By Series End
1) Edmonton has a great deal of speed on the offensive and defensive end of the ice. Though the Stars shut down the Oilers in the regular season, can they do it again in the playoffs?
2) Will the Stars be able to carry the momentum they gained after defeating a very good Colorado team?
3) Social media is divided in terms of fan support. Some fans think Edmonton will be a breeze based on history. Others, on the other hand, expect another battle. Can the Stars maintain their energy and defeat Edmonton in less than seven?
Author Expectations
One thing can be said about the Dallas Stars. If the Stars play to win, they can shut down “the best of em” as the saying goes. However, they haven’t had a dominating playoff round yet. A safe assumption here, would be to go in ready for a war. Edmonton is a great team. Dallas and Edmonton go back a long time. Honestly, there has never been an “easy” game against Edmonton. You can bet Edmonton will be ready to play. After the Stars were able to rest for a few days, we should hope that the Stars also come ready to go.
Here we go.
Double-J Sports 