The Dallas Stars have totaled more than 100 points each of the last three seasons and lost in the Western Conference finals each time.
That’s why this feels like it should be a Stanley Cup or bust postseason for the Stars, when they start their championship journey Saturday against the Minnesota Wild in a best-of-seven series at American Airlines Center.
After all, the Stars have the Western Conference’s second-best record and a star-studded roster with impressive depth.
But to get to the Finals for the fourth consecutive year, they’re going to have to beat the Wild (104 points) and the Colorado Avalanche (121 points), who have the league’s best record.
Oh well, life has never been fair.
The Stars will need Jason Robertson, an elite player in the regular season with 96 points (45 goals, 51 assists), to play like a star in the playoffs.
The same goes for Wyatt Johnston, who scored 86 points (45 goals, 41 assists), and Miko Rantanen (22 goals, 55 assists), who totaled 77 points.
Miro Heiskanen, questionable for Game 1 with a lower-body injury he sustained on April 9, will need to play with his usual calming influence when he returns to the lineup.
But if we’re honest, this series will be a referendum on Jake Oettinger.
He’s among the league’s best goalies, and he has been good in the playoffs the past few years.
Still, he must be better in the playoffs. Again, if truth is important, he’s one of the reasons the Stars fired Pete DeBoer and replaced him with Glen Gulutzan.
Oettinger gave up two goals on the first two shots he faced in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, and DeBoer benched him 7:09 into an elimination game against Edmonton.
Wow.
He replaced Oettinger with Casey DeSmith, who hadn’t played in a month.
Edmonton had scored a power play goal on a one-timer and a breakaway. Neither was considered a soft goal, but that wasn’t the point.
Sometimes, your goalie must do the impossible to get your team to the next round. Fair? Nope.
Reality? Yes.
The Stars lost 6-3, and DeBoer doubled down on his decision after the game.
“I didn’t blame it all on Jake, but the reality is if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton,” DeBoer told reporters after the game. “And we give up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. … That’s a pretty big sample size.”
DeBoer lost the team with that decision, and he had to go.
Oettinger, a member of the USA Olympic team that earned a gold medal, gets a chance to shut down all the chatter about whether he can lead the Stars to hockey’s holy grail.
We’ve seen him dominate in the regular season. And he did it again this season. He was 35-12 with four shutouts and a 2.59 GAA.
We’ve seen him be good in the playoffs, but the Stars and the Wild are so evenly matched that Oettinger needs to be the difference-maker.
Not a difference-maker; the difference-maker. The Stars signed him to an eight-year, $66 million contract extension two years ago that kicked in this season.
The contract indicated general manager Jim Nil’s belief in Oettinger to ultimately lead the Stars to their first title since 1999.
Now, it’s time for Oettinger to reward Nil for his confidence and prove to DeBoer that he can be the epicenter of a championship run.
