NHL Power Rankings: Lightning strikes, Flames burn out

19. Dallas Stars (-4)

The Dallas Stars have faded down the stretch and are seeing the playoffs slowly slip away from them. They currently sit five points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final spot in the Western Conference. This offseason the Stars will be targeting depth scoring options. Their first line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov was dominating, but the team needs more depth in scoring. Looking at the upcoming free agency list there is not a lot of “bargain” players to add that will be effective and cheap. The Stars could attempt to sign away James Neal from the Vegas Golden Knights. Neal was a former player for the Stars who can score goals. Slotting him into a second or third line role could be a terrific addition to their lineup.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the end of season collapses. The Dallas Stars finally snapped out of their 11-game losing streak when they beat the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Tuesday. Their losses for the last set of games during the streak included the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks. Five points down the stretch is not impossible for the Stars to make up. It will incredibly difficult looking at their schedule. They open with a home and home series with the Minnesota Wild then head west. They finish the season with three straight road games against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. The good news is all five of these games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.