Playoff-bound Dallas Stars hope for picture perfect end to the season
DALLAS - With three regular season games to go, the Dallas Stars are the best team in the West and maybe the best team in hockey.
The Stars took team photos on Wednesday.
Head coach Pete DeBoer said the photos are a chance to reflect on each season, like a teacher would with their class.
"I remember coaching teams that were out of the playoffs on picture day, and it's a nightmare," DeBoer said.
This Dallas team is special.
The Stars are going into the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL.
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DeBoer says the team is feeling optimistic excitement.
"We've risen to the occasion when we've played the elite teams recently," said the Stars' coach. "I like where we're at, but you always wonder how it's going to translate when you get one of those teams in a seven-game series."
Over the last 2 weeks, Dallas has beaten three teams that will be in the Western Conference playoffs by a combined score of 15-5.
The Stars have won 15 of their last 18 games and goalie Jake Oettinger is riding a career-best 8-game win streak.
This team is more balanced than in the past, with a franchise-record 8 different players with over 20 goals for the season.
For leading point scorer Jason Robertson, that means less pressure to put the puck in the net, unlike last year.
"It feels more secure knowing that the other guys here are going to step up and that stuff is not going to go away," Robertson said.
DeBoer has taken two different teams to a Stanley Cup Final before.
He feels Dallas has a characteristic that is not quantified as a statistic that you need to get there.
"Any of those deep runs, the one constant has been veteran leadership in the room," DeBoer said. "This group has that in spades. It has that as much as any team that I have coached."
This Dallas team has legitimate hopes to pose postgame with a Stanley Cup, followed by a celebration that would prevent another fully-organized photo.
"I don't think teams are in the mental state after winning to get together for a picture," said Stars center Matt Duchene. "I would be lying if I didn't say I was thinking about that today."
The Stars still have a chance to finish with the most points of any team in the NHL, which would earn them the President's Trophy.
The last time Dallas claimed that was the Stanley Cup winning team in 1999.