Dallas Stars: Kings Of The Western Conference

Photo: NHL

By Allison Dawe

The Dallas Stars have always struggled to find their team identity season after season. We would see them climb in the standings in the second half of the season but miss the playoffs by only a few points. One player who seems to vocalize his frustration with the team is Tyler Seguin. He knows what it’s like to hoist the Stanley Cup and he hasn’t been shy about sharing his desire to do that again on the Stars. Seguin knows this team has what it takes to have a long run and make the playoffs.

This is a team with a strong core and for players like Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Joe Pavelski the need to solidify their teams’ identity and lead them to a long, hard season and make a standout playoff run is so important. To narrowly miss the playoffs year after year is more than frustrating, all of the hard work and grind of the regular season in an increasingly competitive Western Conference, and the Stars know the feeling of disappointment all too well. This season we’re seeing a very different Dallas Stars, a team that is hungry of the Cup and becoming more a solid, confident, and grind it out team. 

Jamie Benn is a key leader for the Stars and is someone who pushes the team on and off the ice. And as Captain, he is not afraid to be vocal on the bench and on his line. You have to imagine that wearing the “C” on his jersey Benn feels the pressure to be a big piece in bringing his team success in different ways than anyone else on the roster. It feels like this post-season we are finally seeing the Dallas Stars come together more than ever before and show us that they’re team identity, although a work in progress is a fast, offensively deep, and focused team. It’s the leadership of Benn that is clearly inspirational to the team and organization as a whole, he helps fuel the fire.

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While Anton Khudobin has been a strong presence in the net, it’s the defense that seems to be crack under hard-hitting and quick puck-moving teams like the Knights. Dallas took a 3-1 series lead on Saturday night with a 2-1 victory in Edmonton. Khudobin was the backbone with 32 saves in the game Joe Pavelski continues to praise Khudobin and stated when asked about how key his presence is that his competitiveness “bleeds into our team” (NHL.com). We all know how important it is to have a goalie that performs night in and out and can be that rock behind the defense and for the Stars they’ve found that match in Khudobin. This team has hit their stride at the right time and it’s hard to believe they spent four months apart during the NHL pause. It feels like the chemistry, determination, and speed all is paying off for the Stars and it’s clear that they belong in the Western Conference Finals. 

When the stars took a 3-1 lead in the series the momentum shift was a huge advantage. With a team like Vegas, the Stars knew they couldn’t sit back, it was key to get pucks on net, and bring a heavy forecheck. The Golden Knights were pushed to bring it all in game five and put it all on the line. The twist in all of this is that the Stars have been outshot in the Golden Knights series scoring six goals and outshot 130-90. The Stars proved that playing with urgency and determination can help you out-stamina and outwork a very fast and competitive team.

With a 3-2 overtime win the Dallas Stars have eliminated the Golden Knights and stamped their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. Their never-say-die and grind it out mentality has paid off, this is exactly where they deserve to be. It was Denis Gurianov who scored a power-play goal at 3:36 into overtime and now the Stars can sit back and await their final opponent. After the game interim Head Coach Rick Bowness summarized the series and season perfectly, “You need to be rewarded and we got rewarded tonight. It’s so rare to get to the Finals, man you’ve got to enjoy every minute of it.” Maybe the Dallas Stars identity is simply being relentless. The Stars have reached their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years and the victory couldn’t be any sweeter.

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September 16th, 2020