Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche

Thursday April 7, 7.30PM CT

Here we are now, the climax of the season and we've reached the true must-win games. With three games left, the Dallas Stars (40-28-11, 91 points) play host to the Colorado Avalanche (29-42-8, 66 points) tonight before traveling to Colorado to play the Avalanche at their home tomorrow. A fierce rival back in the '90s, the Avalanche have fallen on hard times but have had the Stars number this year and have a chance to spoil their season.

Dallas currently sits in the tenth spot in the West, four points behind both Anaheim and Chicago. Dallas has one game in hand on both teams and sports a much easier schedule. Anaheim must play the Los Angeles Kings twice while Chicago must play the Detroit Red Wings twice. In order to even have a chance to make the playoffs, the Stars will need either the Ducks or the Blackhawks to lose both of their games so start rooting for the Red Wings and the Kings.

Coming into today's games, the Dallas Stars are two points behind Chicago and Anaheim for the last spots in the Western Conference playoffs. Each team has three games remaining, but Dallas has the easiest schedule of those three teams. The Stars will play home to Colorado, at Colorado and then finish up the season at Minnesota. Both these teams are out of the playoff race.

While the Stars most still do their part and win the games they play, they need some help from the teams that play Chicago and Anaheim.

Chicago's next games will be home to St. Louis and then a home and away series with the third place Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks will play the Blues tonight so I'll take a look at how the series has gone so far.

• The game will be played in Chicago. Chicago has a 23-16-0 record at home. The Blues have a 15-20-5 record on the road.

• The Blackhawks currently lead the season against the Blues with a 3-2-0 record. One of the wins was in overtime. Chicago leads 18-17 in the goals scored department.

• The two games played in Chicago were both won by the Blackhawks.

• Chicago is still without leading goal scorer Patrick Sharp, who has missed seven games. The Blackhawks have gone 3-3-1 in that stretch.

• The Blues have been on an absolute tear lately, winning five of the past seven. Those include a 6-1 win over Columbus, a 6-3 win over Minnesota and a 10-3 win over Detroit. Those three wins were all on the road.

The Anaheim Ducks remaining schedule will be home to San Jose and then a home and away series against the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks play the Sharks tonight.

• The Ducks are 2-3-0 against San Jose this year. They have a 24-13-2 home record while San Jose has a 23-12-4 road record.

• Anaheim is on a two game losing streak while San Jose has won four in a row and eight of their last nine games. The Sharks have scored at least four goals in seven of those games.

Final

Dallas 3 - Columbus 0

Dallas continued to keep their playoff hopes alive tonight by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0. The Stars did what they had to do, beating a team that was without three of its' best players. Steve Ott tallied a power-play goal in the first period while Loiu Eriksson and Brendan Morrow added empty netters in the last minute of the game.

It was a close matchup throughout the game, with Columbus getting good goaltending from Mathieu Garon. He was huge in stopping multiple chances on a couple of the Stars power-plays. The only goal that he did allow was a tip in by Steve Ott. Ott tipped a shot that was fired from the point by Brad Richards. The puck bounced off the ice and just went by Garon's leg for the Stars' first goal. 

Kari Lehtonen stopped 23 shots for the 17th shutout of his career, his third as a Dallas Star. Without all-star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets couldn't get that big presence in front of the net that could score big time goals. They did score one goal with four minutes left in the game, but it was disallowed because it was ruled that Derek Dorsett pushed Loui Eriksson into Lehtonen's lap. Dorsett was penalized for goalie interference and the goal was waved off. It's the third goal in the last two games that has been diallowed for Stars opponents, all within the last five minutes of the game.

The win, coupled with Chicago's overtime loss to Montreal, puts Dallas two points behind the Blackhawks and Ducks for the eighth seed in the West. All three teams have three games left in the regular season.  

The Stars next game will be at home on April 7 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Tuesday April 5, 7.30PM CT

With just one win, the entire playoff outlook has changed for the Dallas Stars. After their 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks, the Stars now sit three points back of the eighth place Chicago Blackhawks and have a much easier remaining schedule, playing teams that are already out of the playoff race. Chicago ends the season with a home-and-away series against the Detroit Red Wings.

The next step in the Stars (39-28-11, 89 points) playoff push comes against the floundering Columbus Blue Jackets (34-32-13, 81 points). Columbus has only won three games since March 1, a span of 18 games. 

Dallas is 1-1-1 against the Blue Jackets this year, with each matchup being decided by one goal. The Stars catch a huge break though as Columbus is without their superstar player Rick Nash, who has missed the past three games with a lower body injury. Nash is the Blue Jacket's statistical leader in goals, assists and points and scored goals in both of Columbus' wins over Dallas. 

Columbus are coming off a 6-1 loss to the suddenly dangerous St. Louis Blues.

Final

Dallas Stars 4 - Anaheim Ducks 3

Deja vu turned out a to be a mirage for the Stars this time around. Up by one goal on the Anaheim Ducks and time winding down, the Stars watched as two Anaheim goals got disallowed; thus preserving a 4-3 win and possibly saving their season. Dallas got two goals from Mike Ribeiro and a goal each from Jeff Woywitka and Brenden Morrow as the Stars offense finally saw signs of life.

Dallas didn't come out all that strong, but they played well enough and got some luck that had been eluding them in the past seven games. The forwards on the team finally scored some goals and although he looked tired and uncomfortable in the game, Kari Lehtonen got the job done. The Stars next four games are against teams that are already out of the playoffs so they must take adavantage of the opportunity and win each of them. The offense has to continue to click. 

The Stars lead was put to the test in the final two minutes as the Ducks began to throw everything at the Stars. Teemu Selenne scored what looked to be the game-tying goal, but it was disallowed after officials ruled that Saku Koivu interfered with Kari Lehtonen's chances of stopping the shot. The Ducks scored again in the final minute of the game, but again that goal was disallowed because it was ruled that Corey Perry hand-passed the puck. 

The Ducks had goals from Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Lubomir Visnovsky; the group that has been killing the Stars this year.

 With the win, the Stars (39-28-11 89 points) move within three points of the Chicago Blackhawks, who lost 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Each team has four games left. 

Dallas' next game is a Tuesday home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Dallas Stars @ Anaheim Ducks

Sunday April 3, 7PM CT

Hopefully during the game tonight, the Dallas Stars don't get nightmares of the last game that occurred between these two teams. In that last meeting, the Ducks tied the game with seven seconds left in regulation and then won the game in overtime. Since that game, the Stars (38-28-11, 87 points) have plummeted out of the playoff race while the Anaheim Ducks (44-29-5, 93 points) have contined to be one of the hottest teams in the league. 

Final

Dallas Stars 1 - Los Angeles Kings 3

Whatever hope Dallas Stars fans had left for the playoffs died as Dustin Brown skated down the ice and leisurely put the puck into the Stars empty net. A season of ups and downs will end on the ultimate down note as the Stars lose 3-1 to the Kings, leaving what is essentially no chance at making the playoffs.

In a game that they had to win, Dallas played in this game with no urgency. Los Angeles dictated the play and the onnly time Dallas played with some fire was in the last minute, when they were down 2-1 and needed a goal. The Stars were lazy to the puck, constantly getting beaten and were failling to rush the net. Once again, the top forwards for the team did next to nothing, even with Richards' goal.

To make the playoffs, Dallas would have to win each of their last five games, an inconceivable notion given their recent performances. They would then need either Chicago or Anaheim to then go winless in their final five games, again virtually impossible given their recent winning ways.

The Stars next game is April 3 at Anaheim to play the Ducks.

Dallas Stars @ Los Angeles Kings

Saturday April 5, 3:00 P.M CT

Focus, that needs to be the motto for the Stars today. Dallas (38-27-11, 87 points), has lost seven of their last eight games and were mauled in their previous matchup against the San Jose Sharks by a 6-0 score. The Stars, who sit in 10th place, head to Los Angeles today to face the 5th place Kings (44-27-6, 94 points).

The Kings have also been streaking, going 7-2-1 in their last ten games but Dallas catches a bit of a break as LA will be missing two of its' best offensive players in Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. The Stars will have to concentrate on stopping Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Dustin Pennar. The Kings have a 3-1-0 record since losing both players, but lost their last game against Vancouver 3-1.

At the moment, Dallas is five points behind Chicago for the 8th seed in the playoffs and still mathematically have a chance to overtake them. However, the recent string of losses have torpedoed the Stars chances. Only two of the top ten seeds of the Western Conference have losing records in their last ten games, Dallas and Calgary.

The Stars have six games left in the regular season and despite their collapse, they are still mathematically in the playoff race. Here's a quick look at the teams that the Stars are fighting against in order to get that coveted playoff berth.

• Calgary 38-29-11 (87 points) - In tenth place but tied with the Stars in points. They lose the tiebreaker to Dallas if both teams were to finish the season tied.  
  • 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
  • Previous game: Lost 4-2 to Anaheim.
  • Their next game will be April 1 at the St. Louis Blues.
  • Calgary holds the distinct edge in the series against the Blues, winning all three of the previous matchups by a combined score of 11-1.

• Chicago 41-27-8 (90 points) - They hold the last playoff spot and sit three points ahead of Dallas. They hold the tiebreaker edge on Dallas, with three more regulation+overtime wins.
  • 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.
  • Previous game: Lost 3-0 to Boston.
  • Their next game will be April 1 at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
  • Chicago has won three of the five games with Columbus and holds a 21-14 goal scoring edge. They have won the previous two game played in Columbus.

Final

Dallas Stars 0 - San Jose Sharks 6

With their backs against the wall and season riding on the line in a do or die game, the Dallas Stars came out and absolutely wet the bed against the San Jose Sharks in a 6-0 loss. Dallas was outplayed in every single facet of the game and it showed on the score sheet. San Jose forwards carved up the defense and could get any shot that they wanted. Kari Lehtonen, who has started 27 of the last 28 games, looked just plain tired out there and he gave up rebound after rebound as he faced 33 of the Sharks 52 shots.

San Jose took the game to Dallas and forced their hand. Once the Sharks scored that power-play goal in the second period, you could see the will just draining from the Stars, especially after they failed to score on three straight power-play opportunities. The losing streak and constant pressure looks like they have broken this team and Marc Crawford just can't find a way to motivate them.

With this loss, Stars is put us all out of our misery and are all but eliminated from the playoff race. While they are still mathematically alive, they show no signs of playing winning hockey as they have dropped eight of their last ten games. Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson haven't even looked anything close to what they were before they suffered their concussions and continue to look listless out there as the game wore on.

Dallas currently sit three points back of Chicago with each team having six games left to play. Their next game is Saturday in Los Angeles to face the Kings.