After All-Star Game, focus now shifts to jam-packed playoff race

TAMPA, Fla. -- Goodbye, pirates. Hello to what may become one of the most compelling playoff races in recent memory.
"I'm guessing we've never seen anything like how it's going to be," Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin shortly after the Central Division All-Star squad was defeated 5-2 by the Pacific Division to end their All-Star Weekend experience.

BEHIND THE SCENES: [See the best images from the Stars' experience at NHL All-Star Weekend in Tampa]
Historically, this is the unofficial line in the sand marking the stretch run to the playoffs. Seguin, John Klingberg and the rest of their Central Division foes got an early jump on that as they played in the first game of the four-division, 3-on-3 tournament.
They were once again one-and-done, departing Tampa and the pirate-themed, low-key weekend for Dallas, where the Stars will re-enter the grind of the Western Conference playoff race Tuesday when the Los Angeles Kings come to town.
The Stars are 6-3-1 in January and currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They're three points back of third-place St. Louis, but also being dogged by four teams currently outside the playoff bubble.
"When you look at the Central, feeling like you're playing really well as a team, you're really only just keeping up," Seguin said.
"And you look at who's in last place in the Central in Chicago -- that's probably still one of the best teams in the division despite their record. But they're not even playing terribly and you know they're going to be pushing like crazy.

"You don't want to be looking over your back, but we want to keep going forward keep trying to climb up."
Seguin likes the emotional buy-in of the Stars heading back to work after both the bye week and now the All-Star weekend.
"I think the mode's kind of, even in the last 10-12 games, I know we've been playing well, but our mode and mentality has been that playoff mode. We've been in emotional games," he said. "We're seeing that in our hockey team, finding that emotion night in, night out.
"That's how playoffs are going to be and the atmosphere, so I think we've already clicked into it, and now, it's the final push."
The tightness of the division actually came up during All-Star Weekend as bitter on-ice foes took a break from the daily grind to enjoy one of the NHL's signature weekends, working together for a common goal.
"Yeah, little jokes," Seguin said. "I used to play with Kaner (Chicago's Patrick Kane) during the lockout, so I'm close to him. So I gave him a couple of jokes of couple of years ago -- there were four of them (Blackhawks) -- and this year, there's just him. And telling him he's being selfish being the only guy coming when it was his whole team before, it felt like."

Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler said they were joking before Sunday's game against the Pacific that if they were going to come up with a win, it would have to be a low-scoring -- likely a one-goal affair because that's how things generally go in the Central.
"The Central Division's pretty tight and we know we keep it pretty tight like that," Wheeler said.
His Jets are currently in first place in the Central, a point ahead of last year's Western Conference champs, Nashville. And for a team that has never won a single playoff game -- let alone a playoff seriesdating back to their experience in Atlanta before being relocated at the end of the 2011 season -- the stretch run looms large.
"I think the rubber hits the road now," Wheeler said. "We're going to have a good practice (Monday). I'm sure it'll be high intensity, high pace. I think our guys used these breaks well to rest up. … I think we're excited about, hopefully, having a lot of meaningful hockey to play here in the next couple of months."
For Klingberg and Seguin, this weekend reflected different realities.
Seguin was attending his sixth All-Star Weekend, counting an appearance as a young star when the NHL had a young stars component that was separate from the main All-Star game. He is now one of the elder statesmen at this event game and his standing in Tampa reflects his evolution as a player under Ken Hitchcock in Dallas, where he's become a true No. 1 center killing penalties, taking important draws and often playing against other teams' top players.
His takeaway memory?
"I liked the pirates," he said of Gasparilla, the annual pirate-themed festival that was also held in Tampa this weekend.

Klingberg, on the other hand, was attending his first All-Star event and was asked multiple times about his growth into a potential Norris Trophy candidate as the league's best defenseman.
"I think, so far, this year, I've done really good, so it's nice to get the recognition," Klingberg said after Sunday's game. "Just moving forward, this builds confidence.
"There's a lot of hockey left, so it builds confidence moving forward."
Klingberg had a breakaway in Sunday's game (he was foiled by Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury), had some interesting shifts battling Connor McDavid and admitted he wasn't as nervous playing in the 3-on-3 game as he was when he hit the ice for the skills competition Saturday, where he acquitted himself well in the hardest-shot competition with a top attempt of 97.6 mph -- third best in the competition.
Klingberg knows, too, that as much as this weekend represented a break from reality, in some ways, the real work is ahead of himself, Seguin and the Stars.
"Every team had their break now and everyone wants to build either momentum going into playoffs, or there's a lot of teams, especially in the Western Conference, that's pushing for the playoffs here now.
"So (it's time to) get back to business here on Monday for sure."

Notes

• It's clear the Pacific Division is in the collective heads of the Central Division. At least this year the Central kept it relatively close after getting waxed 10-3 last year in Los Angeles.
"We didn't want to get pumped like we did last year," Seguin admitted. "It was a little closer -- a little, but not a lot."
• Seguin was also asked about the pace of the 3-on-3, which in their lone game was more pedestrian than electric.
"I'm always in the first game and then I'm leaving. I can't compare the pace too much. But everyone had fun," said Seguin.
• Seguin was also asked about his experiences playing with the iconic Jaromir Jagr, who was put on waivers by the Calgary Flames on Sunday, likely marking the end of his Hall of Fame-worthy NHL career.
He recalled that when the two played together in Boston, there were rumors about late-night secret practices with his linemates and how, during the playoffs in 2013 ,he asked Seguin, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron if they wanted to skate one night during the evening before a game.
"We kind of thought he was kind of kidding, but ... he really wasn't," Seguin said. "Just the love he had for the game, it was awesome."
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his Burnside Chats podcast here.