Two years ago, Lindy Ruff's Dallas Stars broke a five-year dry spell by earning a berth in the Western Conference playoffs in Ruff's first season coaching the club. The underdog Stars put up a good fight against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round but ultimately lost in six games.
Last season, the Stars were among the NHL's top offensive teams but had major trouble keeping the puck out of their own net, which cost the team a playoff spot. After adding depth at several positions and bolstering the leadership group in the offseason, the Stars find themselves not only back in the playoffs in 2016 but as the top-seeded team in the Western Conference, posting a record of 50-23-9 (109 points).
After a torrid first half to the season -- Dallas was the final NHL team not to lose back-to-back games, and carried that distinction into the month of January -- the club hit a pair of half-month spells where they reverted to their ways of last season. However, even as some key injuries piled up down the stretch, the Stars righted their ship and finished up with some outstanding hockey.
Now, the Stars enter the playoffs as contenders to make a deep run into the postseason; a position they have not found themselves in for many years.
Even if top-line center Tyler Seguin (Achilles tendon laceration) and young two-way forward Mattias Janmark (upper body) are not quite ready to play in Game One -- neither has been ruled out -- the Stars have a deep group up front. Potential Hart Trophy finalist and team captain Jamie Benn is the team catalyst but the club can get contributions up and down the lineup -- the likes of Jason Spezza and Cody Eakin provide strong depth through the middle -- and also from the back end. Defenseman John Klingberg is among the NHL's fastest-rising young talents and veteran Alex Goligoski quietly had his best season in years.
Defensively, the Stars are still strictly average (2.78 goals against per game, 19th in the NHL and the worst among all teams that made the playoffs). However, it was enough improvement from last season for such a high-powered offensive team (3.23 goals per game, tops in the NHL by 0.21 goals per game over second-ranked Washington) to surge to the top of the West. Getting Kris Russell and Jason Demers back from injury for the playoffs would help, but it comes down to teamwide commitment to two-way play and the goalies making the saves they need to make.
The Stars' team GAA is skewed by the aforementioned ugly stretches -- several weeks where they were hemorrhaging four or more goals in almost every game. There were also significant, and longer stretches, where the team played the right way and the goaltending was solid.
On an individual basis, neither Kari Lehtonen (2.76 GAA, .906 save percentage) nor Antti Niemi (2.67 GAA, .905 save percentage) had standout stats but those numbers obscure two key factors: 1) For most of the season, when one was faltering, the other took the ball and ran with it for while with a stretch of solid play, and 2) some ugly games and early hooks tend to knock down overall good play when the workload is shared, especially in a team that doesn't mind winning 5-4 or 4-3. The fact that each goalie picked up 25 wins speaks to their ability to make a few key saves at key times.
Nevertheless, if there's one area where the Wild may have an on-paper edge entering the series, it is in goal. Workhorse starter Devan Dubnyk logged 67 games played and, while not a likely Vezina Trophy finalist as he was last year, still put up numbers (2.33 goals against average, .918 save percentage) that the majority of goaltenders around the NHL would gladly take for their own.
Minnesota has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team all season. The team seemed to be in a headlong nosedive when head coach Mike Yeo was fired and John Torchetti took over with an interim title. The club has battled a slew of injuries this season -- the Wild often seem to have bad luck in that department -- and there were stretches where the team couldn't seem to get out of its own way. Excluding the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, the Wild's 87 points (38-33-11) is the lowest point total for any playoff-bound team since the NHL adopted the shootout in 2005-06.
On the flip side, during several stretches of the season where the club was on its game, the Wild were capable of beating any team in the NHL. However, that was not the case down the stretch. Minnesota lost each of their final five games of the regular season. The door was left open for the Colorado Avalanche to grab the final wildcard spot in the West, but the Avs struggled just as badly as the Wild.
Nevertheless, the Wild are an opponent to be respected. They have a fast team and they suppress a lot of shots (sixth lowest average shots allowed per game in the league). Dubnyk usually gives them a chance to win.
Minnesota is going to have scrounge up some goals however they can and try to out-discipline the Stars. Top forwards Zach Parise (upper body) and Thomas Vanek (upper body) are unavailable to start the series. Neither player made the trip to Dallas. Officially, Vanek is on a week-to-week basis and Parise remains out indefinitely.
The Stars won four of the five games in the season series against Minnesota. However, most of the games were tough ones. Three wins came in overtime -- 3-on-3 rather than the playoffs' traditional 5-on-5 format.