Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: Ugly Wins Still Count

You can’t park there!

Posted on by Harlan Bowling
Mar 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Ryan Poehling (25) crashes into the net past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during the first period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

I saw someone post on X on Sunday that despite the Dallas Stars’ questionable run of form lately, it’s good for fans to focus on the bigger picture. Despite a tough weekend against the top of the division, and some causes for concern elsewhere, the Stars continue to bag points consistently.

It’s true — there really aren’t any throwaway games in this league (just ask the Winnipeg Jets, who dropped one to the Buffalo Sabres over the weekend). It certainly doesn’t stop the questions, but it should stop the sky from falling. At this point in the season, there’s little question the Stars will make the playoffs, so the more important things are making sure they get there as healthy and gelling as possible.

Against Tampa, [head coach Pete] DeBoer pointed out that it was a big problem that the Stars’ biggest contributions came from their fourth line and a rookie defenseman. But in a tighter defensive game against the Flyers, the Stars managed a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes despite only putting three shots on goal — all of which came from defensemen. 

From a fan perspective, the Stars were still making some unforced errors in this game. But in a league where the margins of victory are often tight even when a team plays well, it’s clear that finding a way not to throw the game away in an odd day-game tilt was good enough. For now. 

“You know, wasn’t perfect, but definitely a step in the right direction after the last game,” said DeBoer. He pointed to the three penalties Dallas was assessed in the first period as a factor in the low shot total, and also pointed to much cleaner breakouts from the Stars.

At the end of the day, the Stars came away with a win. And keeping pace with Colorado should be high on the list.

The Stars haven’t solved any of their problems in a big sense, but they did avoid losing, which would be demoralizing and dangerous, with Colorado all-too-eager to claim that home-ice advantage over them in the first round. If Dallas does indeed match up against that group, they will surely want to play as few games in Denver as possible. Getting two points, in whatever fashion, is the best way to do that.

Read more from Robert Tiffin’s post-game thoughts over on his website.

Dallas Stars Stuff

Didn’t I say something like “In Harley we Trust” in my last links post?

Pretty cool….

You love to see it…

Elsewhere in the Central

It’s gameday in Dallas tonight, as the Stars host the Minnesota Wild in a matchup with playoff implications. Utah HC has the only other game within the division, as they host the Detroit Red Wings.

Around the NHL

We were so close to seeing a goalie fight. I didn’t know how badly I needed this in my life.

Not entirely sure how none of these got called for high-sticking, but fun to watch nonetheless…

Greetings from Scenic Cedar Park and Beautiful Boise!

Big news in Cedar Park, as the baby Stars are IN…

And it’s good vibes all around as the Steelheads completed a series sweep over the Allen Americans and Brenden Hoffman hit a milestone….

Finally

A lot of us (myself included) take this whole thing a little too seriously at times. Sometimes it’s important to make sure the most important thing is the most important thing…

LOGIN SIGN UP

Talking Points