Losing two games to start this crucial three game road trip was bad enough for Dallas. What made it worse is six games involving the teams the Stars are battling with were the dreaded "three point" games that were either decided in OT or the Shootout. And since the Stars losses to Vancouver and Calgary were in regulation, Dallas lost ground to every team ahead of them in the standings.
| Pos | Team |
W
|
L
|
OTL
|
GP
|
GR
|
Pts
|
PtPct
|
PrjPts
|
MaxPts
|
PtsRq'd
|
PtPctRq'd
|
| 1 | Detroit |
48
|
15
|
9
|
72
|
10
|
105
|
0.729
|
120
|
125
|
---
|
---
|
| 2 | San Jose |
46
|
14
|
10
|
70
|
12
|
102
|
0.729
|
119
|
126
|
---
|
---
|
| 3 | Calgary |
41
|
24
|
6
|
71
|
11
|
88
|
0.620
|
102
|
110
|
---
|
---
|
| 4 | Vancouver |
38
|
23
|
9
|
70
|
12
|
85
|
0.607
|
100
|
109
|
3
|
0.112
|
| 5 | Chicago |
37
|
22
|
11
|
70
|
12
|
85
|
0.607
|
100
|
109
|
3
|
0.112
|
| 6 | Columbus |
37
|
28
|
6
|
71
|
11
|
80
|
0.563
|
92
|
102
|
8
|
0.350
|
| 7 | Edmonton |
35
|
27
|
9
|
71
|
11
|
79
|
0.556
|
91
|
101
|
9
|
0.395
|
| 8 | Nashville |
35
|
30
|
7
|
72
|
10
|
77
|
0.535
|
88
|
97
|
11
|
0.535
|
| 9 | St. Louis |
33
|
30
|
9
|
72
|
10
|
75
|
0.521
|
85
|
95
|
13
|
0.635
|
| 10 | Anaheim |
34
|
31
|
6
|
71
|
11
|
74
|
0.521
|
85
|
96
|
14
|
0.622
|
| 11 | Dallas |
33
|
30
|
8
|
71
|
11
|
74
|
0.521
|
85
|
96
|
14
|
0.622
|
| 12 | Minnesota |
33
|
30
|
8
|
71
|
11
|
74
|
0.521
|
85
|
96
|
14
|
0.622
|
| 13 | Los Angeles |
30
|
31
|
10
|
71
|
11
|
70
|
0.493
|
81
|
92
|
18
|
0.804
|
Stars Tiebreakers With Other Teams:
- Anaheim - Lead season series, 7 points to 5 points with 1 game to play - Tied in goal differential -11 to -11
- Columbus - Won season series, 7 points to 4 points
- Edmonton - Tied season series at 2-2 - Lead in goal differential -14 to -17
- 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 3 with 1 game to play - Trail goal differential +19 to -14
Since out last update...
...Edmonton had two games in hand on Dallas and had leapfrogged the Stars after a 2-1 shootout win over St. Louis. Well, after drilling the Colorado Avalanche, 8-1, on Thursday and defeating the Blackhawks in a shootout in Chicago last night, they've firmly entrenched themselves in the 7th seed.
Likewise, the Nashville Predators put a little distance between themselves and the teams that are currently on the outside looking in by beating the the Kings on Monday night then following it up with back to back shootout losses to the Ducks on Wednesday night on Wednesday night and to the Sharks on Thursday night.
The Blues stayed in the race by rallying to beat the Flames last night after becoming the 11th consecutive team to lose to the Canucks at GM Place on Thursday.
And the Kings are barely hanging on after splitting the first two games of their season-long six game road trip. Thursday night, they overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Bruins in OT, before dropping a 4-1 decision to Pittsburgh last night.
As for the Wild, they were shutout by the Devils, 4-0, and are in the same boat as the Dallas Stars. Literally. With an identical 33-30-8 mark.
Looking Ahead
Obviously, the Stars have a big game in San Jose this afternoon. The four teams ahead of them in the standings are actually all off today, a rarity for a Saturday in the NHL. That's probably in deference to the NCAA Tournament.
Tomorrow night, Phoenix visits Anaheim while Minnesota hosts Edmonton.