Dallas Stars - Fact or Fiction?

So it is February and the Stars are still sitting pretty, 3rd in the Conference, after 2 straight playoff misses. Things are good right?

Well not quite. The Stars currently sit 10 pts adrift of Vancouver in 1st just 2 places above them yet they are only 7 pts ahead of the Kings in 9th, 6 places below them and out of the playoffs! In face if you drop the same gap to Vancouver that would scale all the way down to behind Calgary in 12th!

So the Stars are closer to missing the playoffs than they are topping the Conference. Another thing of worry is that in the last 4 games the Stars have gone 1-3-0 and the 3 losses were by a combined score of 18-6 although 2 of those were against the Canucks. The other worry that some Stars fans have brought up is that the Stars haven't beaten a top team for over a month with most of our wins coming against the bottom feeders while getting blown out of the water by the contenders.

The worrying thing about the upcoming schedule is that we face Boston and Philly in the next 3 days who really are top teams, and we face a run in March where we face our division rivals (who we have been bad against) a whopping 9 times with a further 2 games in the first 3 days of April. That could very well make or break our team and will be a true measure of just how good this team is.

As a Stars fan I do have to keep reminding myself that as painful as these losses to the Canucks have been it isn't all that bad. 6 months ago the very thought of comparing the Stars with the top teams in the league seemed a little pointless and just getting in to 8th was the plan. The fact that we are where we are is a sign we are taking the necessary steps needed and all this while in very tough circumstances behind the scenes.

I personally feel that this is a playoff team but not a contender just yet. We will still have to battle just to make the big show but we have the team to do it and once in anything can happen. Will we win the cup? I severely doubt it. Will I believe that we can? Of course, right until the final buzzer goes to knock us out.

So what do you guys think? Are the Stars legit or have they been punching way above their weight and we are beginning to see the bubble burst?

Hate to say it, but punching above your weight in my opinion. The sophomores can't keep the pace all season, the bottom 6 doesn't scare anyone, and your special teams are nowhere near good enough.

Or so says me, from the lofty heights of 1st overall

Play-off contenders or also-rans? Hmm, not sure. I'll let you know after tonight's game.

Was thinking of going tonight, but the weather is so poop that I'll probably just watch it from the comfort of the sofa instead.

Jamie Benn and Steve Ott are pretty good players Azzy, I wouldn't say our bottom 6 was the problem personally. In fact I would say our forward group is among the best but special teams is where our main problem is. That game with you guys the other night was pretty even when it came to the 5 on 5 play but you burned us badly (as you have done all year) with the special teams.

Also you say the sophomores not keeping pace.....we only have 2, Benn and Wandell, both of whom are injured at the moment anyways!

Jane if you are watching tonight come on here! I will be watching assuming there is a stream available!

Oh, I'll probably be popping in and out here during the game.

I don't think there will be 146 penalty minutes this time, but with Ott and Thorton, you never know

I've just been reminding myself of that crazy game. The penalties included six fighting majors, seven misconducts, six roughing minors and five penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. Along with assorted trips, slashes and hooking penalties. Mental.

I know it was crazy, the joys of having Avery eh?

We may not have Avery anymore but Ott played his part in that game so I am sure the Bruins players won't have forgotten that!

Just don't blow us out of the water like Vancouver keep doing eh?

Was it Ott who got flattened by Ference with a huge open ice hit? I think that one led to Avery dropping the gloves. And then there was a total bench clearer with players all piled on top of each other and punches going everywhere.

Panic ye not Mr Homer.

I think the Stars are home and hosed for the play-offs. They have games in hand on all the teams below them(apart from The Blues and Wild). I cannot see 6 teams having a better finish to the season to force Dallas out.

In previous seasons both Bruins and Flyers may have been rubbing their hands and thinking it is 2pts in the bag. Not this season though, neither of them are really pulling up trees!!!!

If I were you my friend, I would be getting ready to grow myself a play-off beard....or play-off designer stubble if last as long as the Blues did when they last made them

I think it was CJ. I am not sure what happened that game but Ott and Avery seemed to wanna 'out-douche' each other and it spilled over. Ott is smarter than that normally but that game even I will admit Ott was way out of line.

Hopefully all that helps to fuel a physical entertaining game tonight (with a better result than last time!)

I hope you are right Driz but I am not counting my chickens yet. Still a long way to go and the Stars were in a good position come Feb in each of the last 2 years and just fell apart down the stretch. This year is a bit better at this stage than the previous 2 but there is still that possibility of a monumental collapse!

At this stage I feel we simply are not good enough yet to beat the likes of Detroit and Vancouver but I reckon we could match up well against any other western team in a playoff series which is a huge improvement on the expectations for the season!

Step one, beat Boston tonight!

And the odds on a Dallas win have just improved with the announcement that Tuukka (two U's, two K's, two wins) is in goal tonight

What the hell has happened to him? He looked so good last year!

He is still good. Just look at his Sv%. It is just unfortunate that whenever he decides steps onto the ice the Bruins defence men decide to do their laundry!

Oh and for me the Stars are in. I think they have a very good mix of forwards and should Lehtonen have his annual injury down the stretch Raycroft looks ready to hold the fort till he returns.

All this reminds what is it with former Leaf goal tenders going on to do well elsewhere!!

With Timmy being so hot, poor old Tuukka just isn't getting the opportunities. I feel quite sorry for the lad, because when he has played, the rest of the team has played poorly and then he gets saddled with a loss when he's actually played pretty well.

I'm assuming he'll start getting more games in the run up to the play-offs which will hopefully boost his confidence and also give Thomas a bit of a rest

From what I've seen of the Stars they're most definitely not a cup contender but they are in a strong position to get into the play-offs. The West is so competitive that it's kinda hard to make up ground. I reckon it'll be between the Stars and the upcoming Sharks for the Pacific division...

Yeah last night didn't go quite to plan did it....... On one positive note, they almost managed to tie it up but if I'm honest they just were not good enough last night.

An entertaining few seconds to open play but then the Stars seemed to forget to actually start playing hockey when the Bruins did.

it was when of the best openings to a hockey game you could get ........ from a neutrals point of view!

Hope the nightmares weren't too bad Homer.

Just been chatting about the game with some of my mates at work. We all agree the rivalry between the two teams is building nicely and it's a shame they only meet once a year.

But Daniel Paille is a very naughty boy and deserves any suspension he's given.

I said to my mate last night, could you imagine if we met in the final? As unlikely as that is it would be a real treat!

You can credit a lot of this to Avery......

Funnily enough my mate Matt here said exactly the same thing.

And he's thinking of giving Tavares back to me as well. Bless.

haha did you give him the puppy dog eyes?

Didn't need the puppy dog eyes. The fact that Mr C is his boss probably swayed his decision

Although I've had to change my password because he and Mr C have been discussing sneaking into my account and benching my best players when I'm not looking.

so you have to question who's side he is really on then!

And young Matt has decided not to let me have Tavares back just yet, seeing as next week he's head to head with me and wants to give himself a fighting chance. If Crosby returns, I'm in big trouble.

And back to the Dallas/Bruins game - I think Jack Edwards is a complete clown but I did like his description of Steve Ott as a goal-scoring sociopath.