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There’s going to be teams this postseason that are going to hog all of the headlines and buzz, but for those of us that pay attention to hockey and advanced stats, one name that comes up time and time again as a legit Stanley Cup threat is the Dallas Stars.
Dallas doesn’t have that explosive first line that can out score anybody. They’re more of a complete four line team, that when combined can out play and out work just about everybody. General Manager Jim Nill has methodically put a Stanley Cup team together. Dallas have a meld of great vets that have been down the road before with skilled youths that can contribute.
Dallas have four legit centers that can win their draws, control possession, and can score at even strengths. Dallas offence will be very difficult to game plan for over seven games, as all of their forwards can step up at a moments notice.
While the Stars offence might not be the best in the NHL, they’re complemented with a stingy blue line that’s lead by Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen is their lead dog in back and will get 30 minutes of crunch time ice time, but Dallas D isn’t built to out muscle you or out skill you. Their D is very methodical and will look to quash teams that live and die in high event offence. Dallas’ penalty kill is very stout as well and are a top team in chances created in the offensive zone, which will help complement their PK.
All of this wouldn’t amount to much though if Dallas didn’t have elite goal tending in net. Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger can and will win series on his own. Especially if it comes down to wire to wire hockey in games five, six, or seven, you want somebody like Oettinger between the pipes.
Teams like Dallas get overlooked all of the time in national media, in favor of louder teams that have dominated the headlines throughout the regular season. But as the grueling 2-month marathon known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs wears teams down, you’re best bet is to root for a team with all the right pieces: offence, defence, and goal tending.
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