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Stargazing, A Dallas Stars Puckcast – Episode 281: First-Round Preview, Stars vs. Avalanche

The Stars’ Stanley Cup quest begins again. Wes and Mark welcome back Evan Liu to size up the series to come.

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts
Defending Big D's Stargazing podcast logo, featuring a Dallas Stars Victory Green cassette tape with tearaway jersey texture and nets over the sprocket holes, designed by Jason Lara
Logo design: Jason Lara | @NHLMaps

The Dallas Stars won their position in the 2025 Stanley Cup race relatively early. Then they skidded into the end of the regular season on a seven-game losing streak unprecedented during head coach Pete DeBoer’s tenure. So what happens now that this team is supposed to be all in?

To survey the first-round ice, Stargazing welcomed back longtime Colorado Avalanche writer Evan Liu, now of Hockey Mountain High. He sat down with Wes and Mark to talk about forward depth, netminder performance, the playoffs return of Tyler Seguin and Gabriel Landeskog, and why whatever happens…won’t be a surprise.

So who you got? Let’s talk about it. It’s Stargazing time!

What’s on your mind? Share it in the comments. (We’re there for you. Really!) And please don’t forget to rate, review and share. Thank you kindly.

Dropping Lines – Stargazing: A Dallas Stars Puckcast | Defending Big D

The Dallas Stars have visibly struggled with late-season injuries in the past couple of weeks. And nowhere has this been more apparent than in the depleted forward corps. How do you rotate lines when the second line is missing? In this episode, Wes and Mark talk about this in depth. They discuss whether Michael Bunting needs to play on the first line, the possibility that Tyler Myers has a Jordie Benn problem, the state of the defense, how the Stars' run-up to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is panning out, and – of course – who falls where on the Expected Rawr (xRawr) chart, now enhanced with up to 37 percent more made-up stats. You take two of your best players off the roster, and all of a sudden forward depth is an issue. We’re Stargazing, and we get it. We really do. Which Stars are in which xRawr quadrant? So far, Wes and Mark have calculated rankings for the following players, current and historic: Sam Steel Jason Spezza Alex Radulov (Yes, we are this committed to the bit. Get on board now, or risk an injury when you try to jump this train during the playoffs.) Let's talk more at Defending Big D. And don't forget to give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts. That's, like, our whole thing right now. Welcome to Stargazing. We love you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
  1. Dropping Lines
  2. You're The Man Now, Dawg
  3. Post-Deadline
  4. Push Play
  5. Olympic Break Score Sheet
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