Dallas Stars Will Make the Playoffs Despite Slow Start

One of the biggest surprises this season has been the shocking start by the Dallas Stars.

Always a solid defensive team which dominated on both the power play and penalty kill, the Stars this season have been anything but good.

Sitting at the bottom of the West for much of the season, many are wondering if they have what it takes to bounce back and make the top eight.

Sadly, the Stars are without solid power-forward and captain Brenden Morrow and the ageless puck-moving master of the blue line, Sergei Zubov. As such, their power play has lacked power and their penalty kill has been riddled with more holes than a war-torn building.

But there is hope. Now that the Avery situation is a thing of the past, the team looks to be bouncing back. They’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and have moved up three spots on the ladder to be just three points out of the top eight. Parity truly is their friend this season.

Most people would agree that the Stars have the line-up, and the potential to get a big streak going and dominate the latter part of the season. Marty Turco must have gone hunting lately as he appears to have found his game.

Brad Richards is leading the team with his quality playmaking and the youngsters Loui Eriksson and James Neal have stepped up to impress even the most negative of Stars fans.

Let’s not forget Mike Modano, either. At 38 he’s playing like he’s in his 20s. Each shift he takes he does so with passion and a die-hard attitude that screams “never say die”. Best of all, he smiles.

You can see that he’s enjoying the game again, and it’s showing in his game. He’s stepped up take on an offensive role after being in a checking role for the last season or so.

On the blue line, Robidas and Daley are leading by example, and the young guys, Grossman and Niskanen are improving their games.

And what of Fabian Brunnstrom, you may ask? He’s getting his game on also. Inconsistent maybe, but when you watch him play and you watch him score you see he’s a pure goal scorer. He has the type of natural talent you see in players like Kovalchuk, Hossa and Ovechkin.

He’s working on his defensive game, and is working his way into a more prominant role on this team. Give him time, i have no doubt he’ll be a force on this team in the coming year or so.

So the question is… can they do it? Can they come out of this hole they find themselves in and ride a solid challenge for the Cup?

Of course they can. I firmly believe teams like Detroit and San Jose are probably watching the Stars carefully, because they know all too well what this team can do if it gets it’s game on.