Dallas Stars Daily Links: Stars Report Card

Hey, the playoffs started last night! I don’t think it needs to be said on a hockey blog, but I’ll say it anyways - the Stanley Cup playoffs are awesome. Nothing feels predetermined (looking at you, NBA), there is action basically every night, and even if you don’t have a stake in the competition, your heart will still race during overtime. So while it’s a massive bummer that the Dallas Stars aren’t involved, cheers to playoff hockey!

Professor Sean Shapiro handed out his end-of-season grades for the lads in Victory Green and included each player’s mid-season grade, as well as the grade the fans would have given the players. It’s a great piece, and while for a majority of players he agreed with the fans, there were several cases where he didn’t, though none of them were too surprising. Here’s a fun game: there were 6 A’s and 3 D’s given out - can you guess who they were? See the full slate of grades at Sean’s spot. [The Athletic]

Stars Things

Scott Burnside has a new home:

Given the rumors that Kari Lehtonen might not be long for Dallas, this was kind of sad:

Here is John Klinberg’s exit interview:

And here’s an interview with the newest member of the Stars organization:

I’m guessing a lot of the answer to this question depends on who the coach is going to be (also the “salary” and “NTC” might have an impact as well):

The Other 30

In case you missed the games last night:

• The Philadelphia Flyers have seen better days. Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick, including a pretty incredible no-look backhand on an airborne puck, and Jake Guentzel tallied four points to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 7-0 victory. They don’t keep stats on this, but Crosby has to be pushing the NHL record for goals batted out of midair (non-deflection) this season. [NHL]
• The Winnipeg Jets hung on late against the Minnesota Wild, overcoming a third period deficit to win 3-2. They also iced the puck approximately 35 times in the last two minutes (not fact-checked). [NHL]
• The Las Vegas Golden Knights won their first ever playoff game, beating the Los Angeles Kings in a low-scoring 1-0 tilt. [NHL]

Need a quick primer on what team’s bandwagon to join for this year’s playoffs? The Active Stick has you covered. I’m inclined to go with Washington, because I like Alex Ovechkin and I’m sick of both the choking jokes and the Penguins’ general existence. Our own Tyler Mair brought up a good point though and said he might become a Flyers guy because the reason to cheer for them looked eerily familiar. [The Active Stick]

Get all of your playoff info in one spot:

Man, this just keeps getting worse. Rest in peace:

If you want to donate to the fund for those affected by the crash, you can go here:

The Seattle NHL group now has a leader, who, after a quick glance, I thought was Keith Olbermann:

I don’t think anyone is really making a case for Sidney Crosby this year, but okay:

Yep: