Amazing what a few home wins can do for a team. A few days ago, the Stars looked like they were fading while teams such as the Blues and Kings looked to be surging towards the playoffs.
But after beating the Carolina Hurricanes and the Minnesota Wild, the Stars find themselves in 7th with an upcoming trip to Western Canada and the Bay Area. Familiar cities and familiar arenas where the Stars have had some success over the years.
First, the current standings:
| Pos | Team | W | L | OTL | GP | GR | Pts | PtPct | PrjPts | MaxPts | PtsRq'd | PtPctRq'd |
| 1 | Detroit | 45 | 15 | 9 | 69 | 13 | 99 | 0.717 | 118 | 125 | --- | --- |
| 2 | San Jose | 44 | 13 | 10 | 67 | 15 | 98 | 0.731 | 120 | 128 | --- | --- |
| 3 | Calgary | 40 | 23 | 6 | 69 | 13 | 86 | 0.623 | 102 | 112 | 1 | 0.029 |
| 4 | Chicago | 37 | 20 | 9 | 66 | 16 | 83 | 0.629 | 103 | 115 | 4 | 0.117 |
| 5 | Vancouver | 35 | 23 | 9 | 67 | 15 | 79 | 0.590 | 97 | 109 | 8 | 0.258 |
| 6 | Columbus | 36 | 27 | 6 | 69 | 13 | 78 | 0.565 | 93 | 104 | 9 | 0.337 |
| 7 | Dallas | 33 | 28 | 8 | 69 | 13 | 74 | 0.536 | 88 | 100 | 13 | 0.491 |
| 8 | Nashville | 34 | 30 | 5 | 69 | 13 | 73 | 0.529 | 87 | 99 | 14 | 0.529 |
| 9 | Edmonton | 32 | 27 | 9 | 68 | 14 | 73 | 0.537 | 88 | 101 | 14 | 0.491 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 32 | 28 | 8 | 68 | 14 | 72 | 0.529 | 87 | 100 | 15 | 0.527 |
| 11 | Anaheim | 32 | 30 | 6 | 68 | 14 | 70 | 0.515 | 84 | 98 | 17 | 0.598 |
| 12 | St. Louis | 31 | 29 | 8 | 68 | 14 | 70 | 0.515 | 84 | 98 | 17 | 0.598 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | 29 | 29 | 10 | 68 | 14 | 68 | 0.500 | 82 | 96 | 19 | 0.670 |
Stars Tiebreakers With Other Teams:
- Anaheim - Lead season series, 7 points to 5 points with 1 game to play - Trail in goal differential -10 to -11
- Columbus - Won season series, 7 points to 4 points
- Edmonton - Tied season series at 2-2 - Lead in goal differential -11 to -18
- Los Angeles - Trail season series, 7 points to 4 with 2 games to play - Lead goal differential -11 to -20
- Minnesota - Won season series (Currently 6 points to 1 point with 1 game to play)
- Nashville - Tied season series at 2-2 - Lead in goal differential -11 to -14
- St. Louis - Lost season series (STL leads 6 points to 0 with 1 game to play)
- Vancouver - Lead season series, 4 points to 1 with 2 games to play - Trail goal differential +15 to -11
I figured with less than a month to go in the regular season and with so many teams bunched up with so few playoff spots left, I'd take a look at where the Stars stand with each individual team in tiebreakers.
Keep in mind that wins are the first tiebreaker, so season series results would only come into play in wins can't break a tie. If the season series results can't break a tie, it goes to goal differential over the entire season. If two or more teams are tied in points AND wins, then the tiebreaker is whoever has the highest BCS ranking.
OK, I'm just kidding for all you Longhorn fans out there.
The tiebreaker in that situation would be highest point percentage in common games.
We obviously know the Wild lost in OT as that loss came at the nifty hands of Nik Grossman. That loss was their third consecutive in either OT or the Shootout so they have been able to pick up three points in their last three games.
Another team that's also experienced a slide in OT is the Edmonton Oilers, who lost their third consecutive game in extra time when John-Michael Liles scored to lift Colorado to a 3-2 win at Rexall Place last night. What both of these streaks mean to the Stars is they've not only been able to surpass Edmonton and Minnesota in the standings, they've also been able to surpass them in wins.
Other results of note:
- Nashville beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-0, to stay in the 8th seed by virtue of having two more wins than Edmonton.
- The Kings dropped a 2-1 decision to San Jose in a marathon shootout that went seven rounds. A Jonathan Cheechoo score and Evgeni Nabakov save in the seventh round sealed the deal for San Jose.
- It took just 46 seconds for the Detroit Red Wings to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead in the second period en route to a 5-2 win to cool off the previously surging St. Louis Blues. St. Louis is right back at it this evening with a home tilt against Minnesota.
- And lastly, the Calgary Flames lost at Toronto, 8-6. Just like the other two division leaders in the West, the Flames have had their share of struggles. They still have a seven point lead in the Northwest Division, but the Canucks have two games in hand on Calgary.