FanPulse: Stars’ Terrible Start, Incredible Play Since Has Changed Their Assumed Fate
At the beginning of the year, the Stars were considered one of the frontrunners among last season’s playoff teams to miss the playoffs this season. Now, the tables have turned.
When we first introduced FanPulse, the SB Nation community weekly poll, to the NHL community at large, one of the first questions was to ask which playoff teams from last season were favorites to miss the postseason this year.
That question was asked October 30th. At that time, the Dallas Stars were 4-8-1, a slight uptick after a 1-7-1 disaster of a start. Given the context at the time, it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone that the Stars were one of the favorites to miss the postseason at that time:
A 14-1-1 stretch that started the very day the first FanPulse poll went out, and an overall record of 26-8-3 after that dumpster fire of a start more than pushed the Stars out of this particular conversation as the calendar flipped to 2020.
It’s interesting to see that the New York Islanders also turned public opinion around over that same time frame. Though they haven’t had nearly the terrible start to recover from as the Stars did, the stout defense and decent goaltending that the team has received consistently this season after losing goaltender Robin Lehner in free agency this summer has kept them higher in the standings than many anticipated at the start of the year.
The San Jose Sharks also saw their fortunes turn, as they moved up to be the clear favorites to miss the playoffs this season. The team is reportedly going to be a seller at the deadline this year, making their intention known well in advance of the trade deadline at the end of February.
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