The Dallas Stars-Colorado Avalanche collection needs to be — on paper, at the very least — top-of-the-line opening spherical matchups within the first spherical of this 12 months’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not solely are each groups among the many finest within the NHL with a reliable probability to win all of it, however there’s additionally the added drama of the Avalanche having to play in opposition to 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 need to break by that ceiling and win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in additional than 25 years.
However there are a few considerations for them going into the collection.
The largest is the standing of prime defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who has already been dominated out for Sport 1 of the collection with no official timeline on when he may return.
The second is the truth that Dallas isn’t precisely going into the playoffs on a roll. The Stars misplaced their remaining seven video games of the common season and, within the course of, misplaced their probability to have home-ice benefit within the first spherical.
A dropping streak like that for any staff, at any level within the season, is often a trigger for concern. It most likely alerts main alarm bells for groups at the moment 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 profitable any of their remaining seven video games of the common season.
That listing 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 honest, not all of these winless streaks had 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 had been the one different groups that went into the playoffs on precise dropping streaks of seven video games or extra.
The Islanders had been additionally a singular state of affairs 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 Closing.
The 1992-93 Sabres additionally received their first-round matchup and superior to the second spherical.
Of the eight groups on that listing, 5 of them ended up profitable at the very least one playoff collection, with the 2019-20 Islanders and the 2001-02 Pink Wings having probably the most success.
The Pink Wings, having completed their season with 5 losses and two ties over their remaining 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 prime of that seven-game winless streak.
Whereas this 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 after they know what’s forward. Typically a staff simply runs chilly for a bit. The playoffs are at all times a completely totally different animal.
Dallas nonetheless has an excellent staff and has a great opportunity to go on a run. The larger concern than the dropping streak is the well being of Heiskanen. If he returns and might make a huge impact, they need to be able to beating anyone in a best-of-seven collection. If he doesn’t, it might not matter what number of video games they did or didn’t win down the stretch run of the common season.
