Fansided

Western Conference bubble teams: What are the keys to playoff qualification?

By Matt Morrow

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 21: Corey Crawford
DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 21: Corey Crawford /
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BOSTON – JANUARY 15: Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91), right, celebrates his game-winning goal with teammates left wing Jamie Benn (14), left, and right wing Alexander Radulov (47) during the overtime period. The Boston Bruins host the Dallas Stars in a regular season NHL hockey game at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – JANUARY 15: Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91), right, celebrates his game-winning goal with teammates left wing Jamie Benn (14), left, and right wing Alexander Radulov (47) during the overtime period. The Boston Bruins host the Dallas Stars in a regular season NHL hockey game at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

Dallas Stars

Cap Space: $1.7 million per CapFriendly.

Points: 56

Currently sitting in a wild card spot, the Stars are inevitably feeling the pressure to hold their ground in a conference and division that is so close standings wise.

Similarly to the Wild, the Dallas Stars desperately need to improve their record on the road, which is 10-11-3. Being able to go into another team’s building and steal a victory is key, as those wins add up and likely could give them the boost they need to get into the postseason and make some noise, finally. I feel like the Stars are always a team with high expectations, but they never seem to meet them.

Secondly, depth scoring is key to advancing to the postseason. The Stars aren’t getting much of it. If they want to be one of the best eight teams in the West, they need to get consistent scoring from someone not named Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, Alexander Radulov or Tyler Seguin. Jason Spezza, Martin Hanzal and Dan Hamhuis are all names that I look to who definitely need to step up.

The Dallas Stars have been surprisingly good as a team in the faceoff dot this year; they lead the NHL in faceoff percentage at 52.9 percent. Being able to keep up this success in the dot will be crucial to their playoff hopes, and it’s likely one of the reasons that they are in the position that they are in. Another thing that’s got them to where they are at this point is their ability to close out games. They lead the league in wins when leading after two periods, with 22.

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