The NHL’s Central Division is proving to be the toughest in the league, with three teams at the top – the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild – that are the top four teams in the entire league.

The Avalanche have the NHL’s top record at 19-2-6, while the Stars are just behind them with the league’s second-best record at 19-5-5, and the Wild are fourth overall at 15-8-5. Those three teams are not separated by much, and the Avs, Stars and Wild are all well on their way to locking up a Stanley Cup playoff spot.

However, if the question is “which of these three teams is under the most pressure to translate their hot start into playoff success?” in this writer’s point of view, it's the Stars.

First, we have to acknowledge some other truths. For starters, it’s clear the Avalanche have absolutely gone all-in this season, and they couldn’t have asked for a better start – including their 8-1-1 record in their past 10 games. We did pick Colorado as our Stanley Cup pick, and we haven’t seen anything to change our minds.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has also gone 8-1-1 in its past 10 games, getting arguably the best goaltending from its tandem of rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson. And Minnesota’s mix of young and old talent has been effective in a way we have to give them credit for. 

Now that the Avalanche and Wild have gotten their flowers, we’re going to tell you why we believe the Stars are under the most pressure in this division.

That discussion starts with the terrible luck they’ve had this week with injuries – specifically, veteran center Tyler Seguin, who is projected to be out for the season after getting hurt Tuesday in a game against the New York Rangers. 

With Seguin now sidelined potentially until next season, there’s a major hole in Dallas’ lineup, and it can’t be easily filled, even if there were several above-average forwards on the trade block, which there isn't.

The Stars are built to win now, but in the Jamie Benn and Seguin Era that began in 2013-14, Dallas hasn’t been able to put it all together and win a Cup. 

Yes, the Stars advanced to the Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20, and made it to the Western Conference final for the past three seasons. But success in the third and fourth rounds has eluded the Stars.

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If Dallas does take a step backward and lose in the first or second round this season,  Stars GM Jim Nill might need to take a long, hard look at changing things up in the hope they’ll find the right championship mix. And that's if he signs another contract with the team, as he's in the final year of his deal.

Now, the beauty of where Dallas is at the moment is that, by-and-large, the Stars can be a playoff team and a legitimate Cup threat for many years to come.

With youngsters like center Wyatt Johnston, defenseman Thomas Harley and center Mavrik Bourque, you’ve got a foundation you can rely on for many seasons, including this one.

Even goaltender Jake Oettinger, defenseman Miro Heiskanen, and left winger Jason Robertson are just 26 years old, and Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz are 29 years old. So there’s no sense that this Stars team will crumble into dust anytime soon.

That said, there are also Stars that need success sometime soon. Dallas captain Benn is 36 years old, center Matt Duchene is 34, and center Seguin is 33, although, has won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.

Nonetheless, time is of the essence right now. And that sense that Father Time is counting down on some key veterans is only increasing.

Don’t get it twisted – if the Avalanche get knocked out of the post-season in the first or second round, there could be significant changes for them next summer, same goes for the Wild.

But Nill has built his Stars team to win right away. So, in the coming weeks and months, the Stars must continue to deliver positive results, or Dallas may suffer consequences that Minnesota or Colorado may avoid.

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The Stars’ lineup is the envy of many teams. But there’s an attendant pressure on Dallas that comes with having so many talented players. That’s why the Stars are under the most amount of pressure to stick the landing and win their first Cup since the 1998-99 campaign.

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