CALGARY, Alberta -- In just a few short hours, Scotiabank Saddledome will be transformed into a "C of Red" as the Stars and Calgary Flames kick off their first round best-of-seven series Tuesday night at 9 p.m. CT.
The Stars no doubt are entering hostile territory. It was a building many teams visited, but few left victorious. The Flames were 25-9-7 in 41 games at home during the regular season and ranked 10th in the league in home points percentage (.695). However, the playoffs are a different animal.
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This is the third postseason appearance for the Stars in the past four seasons, and a return to the playoffs since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 (4-2 series loss to Tampa Bay). Captain Jamie Benn leads the current roster with 59 career postseason games played in a Stars sweater. He ranks first in goals (19), assists (30) and points (49) with the Stars in his postseason career.
It's been a few years, but 17 current Stars dressed for the team when it faced the Flames in the 2020 postseason - a six-game series victory for Dallas. Among them is Joe Pavelski, who ranks first among all-time U.S-born Stanley Cup Playoffs leaders in goals (61), fifth in points (119), sixth in games played (161) and 11th in assists (58). In his postseason career against Calgary, Pavelski leads all current Stars in goals (7), assists (6) and points (13) in a team-high 13 games vs. the Flames.
Miro Heiskanen led the way in the series against the Flames, posting eight points (three goals, five assists) in six games. The 22-year-old holds franchise records for goals (6), assists (20) and points (26) by a defenseman in a single postseason, all set during Dallas' run to the Cup Final in 2020 (27 games). His playoff points-per-game average of 0.75 (eight goals, 22 assists in 40 games) ranks second in franchise history among blueliners with a minimum of 20 games played (first: Brad Maxwell, 0.84 P/GP). Only Colorado's Cale Makar (0.89 P/GP) and San Jose's Erik Karlsson (0.79 P/GP) have a higher rate among active d-men.
This series will feature four players who concluded the regular season with 40 goals or more goals: Dallas' Jason Robertson (41) and Calgary's Elias Lindholm (42), Matthew Tkachuk (42) and Johnny Gaudreau (40). It'll mark fourth series in the past 25 years to feature at least four 40-goal scorers, following the 2001 Conference Finals (PIT: Jaromir Jagr & Alex Kovalev; NJD: Alexander Mogilny & Patrik Elias), 2001 Stanley Cup Final (COL: Joe Sakic & Milan Hejduk; NJD: Mogilny & Elias) and 2019 First Round (TBL: Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point & Nikita Kucherov; CBJ: Cam Atkinson).
Game time is set for 9 p.m. CT with TV coverage on Bally Sports Southwest and ESPN 2 and radio coverage on The Ticket 96.7-FM/1310-AM. For fans back in the Metroplex, the Stars are hosting an official watch party at Legacy Hall in Plano beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.
