Dallas Stars Daily Links: Stars Gain Ground in Playoff Hunt with Win Over Nashville

It's so nice when a game in hand turns in to two points. After last night's win, the Stars now trail Phoenix by 3 points and Minnesota by 4. Meaning the Stars still control their own destiny. Granted, that does mean winning all 9 remaining games is the only way to ensure they're in. Or, perhaps more realistically, take another two points from the remaining game in hand, then match the Coyotes win for win until the final day of the regular season, and then beat them in Phoenix.

Simple really.

Whatever. The picture looks and feels much rosier after last night's 7-3 rout of the Predators. Any time you put up 7 goals on a typically stingy defense like Nashville it's a good thing. And considering they'd been playing rather well recently, beating the likes of Chicago and, well, some other teams, it's even better.

And on a related note, I hope you all noticed that Defending Big D recently wrote an article on how the depth scoring needs to step up, and lo and behold, the depth scoring steps up. So Taylor, if you've got any other suggestions for what the Stars need over the next couple weeks, feel free to write an article about it.

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Recaps of last night's Stars-Predators, which you should definitely read. Every single word. [Stars Inside Edge] [Sports Day DFW] [NHL.com]

And previews of tonight's Stars-Blues, which you should definitely read. Every single word. [Stars Inside Edge] [NHL.com]

Mike Heika is still on his superhero kick. And as a result, we now have an entire team of superheros playing for the Stars! Ryan Garbutt, the Brainiac, and Cody Eakin, the Torch. I love it. [Sports Day DFW]

Poor Chris Mueller must feel like a yo-yo. In the last two weeks he's been up and down between the Stars and the Baby Stars about twelfty million times, by my very accurate count. [Stars Inside Edge]

Spotlight match of tonight in the NHL? No, it's not the Stars game. The focus will be on Phoenix and Minnesota, in a battle for wildcard positioning in the West. Please, no three-point game! [NHL.com]

A Dallas Star got Puck Daddy's second star last night. I would give you a minute to guess, but we're only chatting virtually, so I'll just tell you it was Alex Goligoski. [Puck Daddy]

Rich Peverley is back on the ice, and wants to avoid being a distraction. [NHL.com] [National Post]

The NCAA tournament started yesterday. No, not that one. The only one that's actually exciting. Puck Daddy previews the tournament. And, because that article was up yesterday, there's another one, recapping the first few games. All at once. It's your lucky day!

Central Division breakdown, in which Ger Devine talks about the struggles of the Wild Fightin' Adjectives, JR Lind talks about how well the Predators were playing, and I rant about Mike Smith. It's this week's DemocraThree. [III Communication]

Playoff Death Watch! Did you know 4 teams in the East are tied on 80 points, and only two of them are currently in playoff positions. Granted, the Toronto Maple Leafs are rapidly capitulating, but still, it's quite the race! [Puck Daddy]

Oh, Canada... No, seriously. Oh, Canada! What is going wrong up there? Six out of seven Canadian teams will most definitely maybe miss the playoffs. At least they have those fond memories of winning gold in Sochi to get them through the Stanley Cup Playoffs... [Grantland]