Dallas captured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they had to earn it against a pesky St. Louis Blues team on the last day of the regular season.
Dallas captured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they had to earn it against a pesky St. Louis Blues team on the last day of the regular season.
Over the course of an NHL season, every game can teach a lesson, whether a team is gearing up for the playoffs or going home to start an early off-season vacation.
The Dallas Stars came into their final regular-season game Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues needing one point to claim the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, which would give them home-ice advantage at least through the conference finals. They were facing a Blues team that had just been eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend and had little to play for but pride.
As the game progressed, it became clear earning that one point would not come easily. Dallas fell behind 1-0 at 17:19 of the second period when Robert Thomas took advantage of a Jason Robertson turnover with a shot from the top of the left face-off circle.
As brilliant as Jake Oettinger was in goal for the Stars, Jordan Binnington matched him save for save until Mason Marchment finally tied the game at the 5:11 mark of the third period. Oettinger's breathtaking save in overtime and Robertson's shootout goal proved to be the difference in giving the Stars and their fans what they came for: their first Western Conference title since 2016 and 11th in franchise history.
So what lessons did the Stars take from this game to prepare for what they hope will be a successful Stanley Cup run? They have to bring their A game for everything they earn this time of year. The Blues had no intention of mailing it in and letting Dallas take the conference title without making them work for it.
That was just fine with Stars coach Pete DeBoer.
"They made us earn it," DeBoer said after the game. "I'm glad it was that kind of game and not a blowout or an easy one. I think you want to play competitive games down the stretch going into the playoffs, and we've had a bunch of them."
It was just the sort of test the Stars should expect during the playoffs, but against much stronger competition.
"We had a lot of scoring chances," Robertson said. "That's what's gonna happen in the playoffs. You're going to trade chances... you're going to run into a hot goalie in the playoffs. The goal we did score was kind of an example of what you're gonna have to do in order to score on a hot goalie and on a really hard defensive team."
One of the Stars' main objectives coming into this season was becoming better in overtime and the shootout, a necessity for a deep playoff run. Dallas was 8-14 in those contests in 2022-23 but improved to 12-9 this season.
"At the end of the day, it's the difference," Robertson said. "If you can keep (your overtime record) .500 at least, you put yourself in a good position."
Comebacks have been a regular part of the Stars' season, with half of their 26 wins achieved by rallying from behind. The victory over the Blues was another reminder that building confidence even when behind is crucial to succeeding in the playoffs.
"We always have confidence, a little bit of a swagger thing too," Marchment said. "We know when we play our game, everyone's chipping in and playing their role. That's why we're where we are this year. It's nice to end off on that kind of note."
Each game from this point on will be its own lesson, a test of confidence and character. DeBoer believes his team is ready to go further than last year's run to the Western Conference Finals, when they took the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights to six games.
"Right from training camp, we had a quick start to the season, got off on the right foot," DeBoer said. "(We) handled adversity throughout the year really well when it hit. We didn't have any really extended losing streaks, found a way to win games and keep the losing streaks really short and get right back on track again. That's a testament to the leadership in our room."
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