Fading Light: Obituary for 2013-14 Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007-08, but their stay was a short one as they were eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks. Here is a look at the highs and lows of Dallas' season.
Highs
The Stars returned to the postseason for the first time since 2007-08 and did so with 91 points on the year, the eighth best total in the Western Conference. The team had the 10th best home record in the league with 23 wins, 11 regulation losses and seven overtime/shootout defeats. In November, the team managed to win six of seven. The team also won four of its five February matches and managed to get points in all five games. Tyler Seguin had a breakout year with 84 points; he had never topped 67 in his first few seasons with the club. Captain Jamie Benn also put up a career high in points with 79.
Lows
The team had a January swoon that saw them lose six in a row and seven of eight; the team lost twice to the New York Islanders during that stretch by a combined score of 11-5. The team was also shutout in one game and conceded three or more goals in five of those six straight losses.
Despite having two top-10 scorers on the team, Dallas did not have any other player register more than 42 points all season and no other player aside from Benn or Seguin topped 30 goals all year.
Season MVP
Seguin was the team's leading scorer, but Jamie Benn had a breakout year in his first season as the team captain. He put up a staggering 79 points and scored 34 goals to boot. Unlike Seguin, he did not fade in the postseason (more on that later) but put up five points in six games against the Anaheim Ducks. He did not buckle under the pressure of being the team's leader and seemed to find another gear in his inaugural year as captain.
Elimination Scapegoat
The Stars had Kari Lehtonen and Tim Thomas in the net for the playoff run. While many gave the edge to the Ducks in the goaltending department, there were arguably more questions in the critical position over in Anaheim. Starter Jonas Hiller struggled down the stretch and backup Fredrick Anderson was untested in the postseason. Meanwhile, Thomas was a Conn Smythe winner in 2010-11 and Lehtonen, while untested in the postseason, had a solid year with a .919 save percentage throughout the regular-season. But he was unable to replicate his performance when it mattered most and put up a woeful .885 save percentage in the postseason and was pulled in Game 5. Thomas did not look better in his brief stunt, but it is rather questionable that coach Lindy Ruff would not try the veteran in Game 6 with the season on the line.
Tyler Seguin, who led the team in scoring with 37 goals and 84 points throughout the regular season, also faded in the playoffs with just one goal and three points in six games. Despite playing for a Cup-contending Boston Bruins team the last few years, he has never put up more than eight points in a playoff run. In 2012-13, he only scored one goal and seven assists in 22 games, despite playing in all four rounds of the playoffs.