Dallas Stars fans welcome team back home after losing Stanley Cup Final

Dallas Stars return to North Texas from NHL bubble

It was a bittersweet return for the Dallas Stars Tuesday after being eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals.

DALLAS - Dallas Stars fans gathered Tuesday to show support for the team after a disappointing end to the Stanley Cup Final.

Players, coaches and staff returned landed at Dallas Love Field on Tuesday afternoon, one day after the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

More than 100 fans lined up against the fence on the east side of the airport where private hangars are located and cheered as the team exited the charter plane.

Goaltender Anton Khudobin got an especially loud cheer from the crowd. There were some smiles on the faces of veterans like Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski.

The team was in a “bubble” for nine-plus weeks in Edmonton to avoid contracting COVID-19 and play the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs. That trip to the bubble wound up producing a memorable run and a Western Conference title.

There is not a set start date for the 2020-2021 season, but it could begin sometime in December. It’s unlikely it would take place in a bubble setting.