The Dallas Stars-Colorado Avalanche sequence must be — on paper, a minimum of — among the best opening spherical matchups within the first spherical of this 12 months’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not solely are each groups among the many greatest within the NHL with a professional likelihood to win all of it, however there may be additionally the added drama of the Avalanche having to play towards Mikko Rantanen, the star ahead they traded away earlier this season.
The Stars have been within the Western Convention Finals in every of the earlier two seasons, and want to break by way of that ceiling and win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in additional than 25 years.
However there are a few issues for them going into the sequence.
The largest is the standing of high defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who has already been dominated out for Recreation 1 of the sequence with no official timeline on when he may return.
The second is the truth that Dallas will not be precisely going into the playoffs on a roll. The Stars misplaced their closing seven video games of the common season and, within the course of, misplaced their likelihood to have home-ice benefit within the first spherical.
A dropping streak like that for any workforce, at any level within the season, is normally a trigger for concern. It most likely indicators main alarm bells for groups right now of 12 months, going into the playoffs.
So what precisely does it imply, if something, from a historic context?
Going again to the 1975 season, there have been seven groups which have entered the playoffs with out successful any of their closing seven video games of the common season.
That checklist consists of (via Hockey-Reference StatHead Database):
- 2019-20 New York Islanders
- 2001-02 Detroit Pink Wings
- 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres
- 1991-92 Montreal Canadiens
- 1990-91 Hartford Whalers
- 1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks
- 1976-77 Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1974-75 Boston Bruins
To be truthful, not all of these winless streaks have been precise “dropping” streaks, as a result of most of these groups performed in an period the place the NHL nonetheless allowed ties. There have been a number of ties amongst these groups.
The 2019-20 Islanders and 1992-93 Sabres have been the one different groups that went into the playoffs on precise dropping streaks of seven video games or extra.
The Islanders have been additionally a novel scenario as a result of that was the season that was halted in early March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a a number of month break between that dropping streak and the restarting of the season. When the season started once more with the playoffs, the Islanders ended up going to the Japanese Convention Ultimate.
The 1992-93 Sabres additionally received their first-round matchup and superior to the second spherical.
Of the eight groups on that checklist, 5 of them ended up successful a minimum of one playoff sequence, with the 2019-20 Islanders and the 2001-02 Pink Wings having essentially the most success.
The Pink Wings, having completed their season with 5 losses and two ties over their closing seven video games, went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.
Additionally they did so after dropping the primary two video games of the playoffs, on high of that seven-game winless streak.
Whereas the sort of end is comparatively unusual for playoff groups, historical past suggests it isn’t essentially an indication of what’s forward within the playoffs. Typically good groups get bored once they know what’s forward. Typically a workforce simply runs chilly for a bit. The playoffs are at all times a wholly totally different animal.
Dallas nonetheless has an excellent workforce and has a superb opportunity to go on a run. The larger concern than the dropping streak is the well being of Heiskanen. If he returns and may make a big effect, they need to be able to beating anyone in a best-of-seven sequence. If he doesn’t, it could not matter what number of video games they did or didn’t win down the stretch run of the common season.
