Ducks vs Stars

So much has changed about the future of the Dallas Stars in the past 12 months then when the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs is complete, it will be hard to argue that members of any of the other seven eliminated franchises will feel better about how this season went.

That doesn't mean there isn't disappointment in Texas after the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Stars in six games in a Western Conference First Round series. Though the Stars had the fewest points of any playoff team, they played well enough against the Ducks to spring the upset and advance.

There were lessons to be learned from this experience, and a future with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin at the core of a contending team with general manager Jim Nill and coach Lindy Ruff in charge is one people in Dallas should be excited about.

Here are five reasons fans of the Stars are focusing on that future instead of a second-round opponent:

Narratives can change pretty quickly during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Anaheim Ducks were a strong example of that in the past few days.

The Ducks were a couple of minutes away Sunday night from losing for the third time in four games to the Dallas Stars in their Western Conference First Round series, and facing a Game 7 at Honda Center in the opening round for the second straight season.

Instead, Anaheim forged an incredible comeback, scoring twice in the final 130 seconds of regulation to force overtime and again at 2:47 of the extra period in Game 6 to finish off the Stars and advance to the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2009.

Here are five reasons they will have a chance to do so:

The Anaheim Ducks were less than three minutes away Sunday night from being forced to play a Game 7 in their Western Conference First Round series against the Dallas Stars.

Instead, they helped make history.

Nick Bonino and Devante Smith-Pelly scored 1:14 apart late in the third period to erase a 4-2 deficit before Bonino scored again 2:47 into overtime to lead the Ducks to an improbable 5-4 victory in Game 6 at American Airlines Center. Anaheim won the series 4-2 and will face either the San Jose Sharks or Los Angeles Kings in the second round.

ANAHEIM – Perhaps the funniest moment from the television program "NHL Revealed," which documented the lead-up to the 2014 Coors Light Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium, was Drew Doughty's assessment of Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Maroon.

During a game between the Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, Maroon induced a tripping penalty on Doughty, the two-time Olympic gold medalist defenseman, which prompted the noted trash-talker.

"Buddy, you [stink] at hockey!" Doughty yelled at Maroon. "And you've been in the minors for how long? How long? And you're still on the fourth line? You're still on the fourth line."

Maroon grinned. At least Doughty knew his resume: five full seasons in the American Hockey League, including separate stints with organizations that changed cities. He's played in Texarkana, St. Louis, London, Philadelphia, Adirondack, Syracuse and Norfolk. It takes more than chirping to get Maroon rattled.

ANAHEIM -- It wasn't all that long ago that Ryan Getzlaf admitted he struggled as captain of the Anaheim Ducks. He had difficulty balancing hockey and family life as a new father, and the result was one of the worst seasons of his career.

But those days are in the past.

During this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, Getzlaf became a father for the third time and has been bloodied, scarred and stitched. Nothing has slowed him down; in fact, he's actually furthered his legacy as captain and solidified his Hart Trophy credentials after finishing as the NHL's No. 2 regular-season scorer.

The latest example came Friday night when Getzlaf tied a postseason career-high with a three-point game in a 6-2 win against the Dallas Stars at Honda Center in Game 5 of their Western Conference First Round series. He scored a goal and set up two others after missing Game 4 with an undisclosed upper-body injury, likely the result of taking a slap shot in the face in the final stages of the series opener.

FRISCO, Texas -- No one on the Dallas Stars is enjoying the franchise's first trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2008 more than forward Ryan Garbutt. That's probably because he had to work so hard to get there.

Five years ago, Garbutt had finished his career at Brown University but was undrafted. The Winnipeg native signed with Corpus Christi of the Central Hockey League. Since then, he's gone from the CHL to the ECHL to the AHL and finally to the NHL, where he's turned into a valuable two-way forward for the Stars.

DALLAS -- The loss of defenseman Stephane Robidas early in the second period of Game 3 of their Western Conference First Round series against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday left the Anaheim Ducks with a big void at their blue line.

Robidas is gone for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a broken right leg. It's the same leg he broke while playing for the Stars in November; he was traded to Anaheim in early March and the Ducks waited for him to finish healing.

But the Western Conference regular-season champions appear to have enough depth to overcome the loss of Robidas. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau has two viable options on his roster: former Stars defenseman Mark Fistric, who was recalled from a lengthy conditioning assignment with Norfolk of the American Hockey League on Sunday, and Luca Sbisa, who was limited to 30 games in the regular season because of injury.

"Sbisa hasn't played a lot this year, but he's a proven NHL guy," Boudreau said after practice Tuesday. "Mark Fistric just finished his rehab stint and I'm glad he did because that makes him eligible. We could still call Sammy [Vatanen] back [from Norfolk]. We have options."

DALLAS -- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Stephane Robidas sustained a fractured right leg early in the second period of Game 3 of a Western Conference First Round series against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Robidas fell hard to the ice 42 seconds into the second period after being upended by Stars center Ryan Garbutt near the front of the Dallas net. Robidas, who played most of his career in Dallas before being traded to Anaheim in March, was unable to put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped to the dressing room by a member of the Ducks' training staff and teammate Teemu Selanne.