How important are divisional games for Stars? 'They're huge'

The math is pretty easy if you're looking for a place to concentrate.
The Stars missed the playoffs by three points last season and went 12-14-0 in games against their own division. Win a couple more of those head-to-head matchups, and there's a good chance you get into the postseason party. Post a great record against your Central foes, and there's a good chance you're coasting in April and not even worried about making the playoffs.
Divisional games are that important.

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"They're huge," said defenseman John Klingberg. "You play every team five times in your division, and that's a lot of points. And you're going to face them going into the playoffs as well, so division games are huge."
This year might be even moreimportant.
The Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators are predicted to be among the best teams in the NHL, so there's a chance they finish comfortably in first and second place. That means the Stars, Wild, Blues, Avalanche and Blackhawks could be jockeying for two remaining playoff spots.
The Blackhawks believe they can have a great bounce-back season with goalie Corey Crawford getting healthy. The Avalanche are off to a 4-1-2 start in coach Jared Bednar's third season. The Blues did more than anyone in the offseason in hopes of making a big push this season. And the Stars and Wild both believe the time to win is now.
And yet, somebody is going to be disappointed at the end of the season.
That's why games like Friday's tilt against Minnesota are so big. The Stars play the Wild five times, including the final game of the season. They already have met this group twice in preseason. They're starting to develop a familiarity that goes with the rivalry.
So you mix emotion into a game where both teams are a little desperate, and a natural edge develops. The Stars need to learn to be good in that kind of environment. It's sort of like preparation for the type of hockey you need to play in the playoffs.

"For sure," said Klingberg. "You get to know these teams outside and in, and it just makes it more intense."
That, of course, was the plan when the NHL switched to a division-centric playoff format.
While there are exceptions, the general plan is you face a division opponent in each of first two rounds of the postseason to sort of "emerge" as the best team in your division before you go to the Conference finals. And when your division is considered one of the best in hockey, that creates both a challenge for the players and a spark.
"You want to win your division games for a lot of reasons," said captain Jamie Benn. "That's how you make the playoffs, for one, but also I think those games just become bigger games because you're more familiar."
Because preseason schedules are often made to keep travel shorter, Dallas played St. Louis, Colorado and Minnesota twice in the preseason already. That, too, can help fuel emotions in these game.
"Going forward, I probably wouldn't want to see this many division opponents," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said in the preseason. "But right now, as a first-year coach, this is great for me. Even in preseason, it helps me get more familiar with who these teams are."
And little advantages can make a big difference at the end of the season.
Defenseman Marc Methot said he likes to simply say the next game is the biggest the team is playing, but then added that he understands why people call divisional games "four-point games" (you get two points for a win, but you also take away a possible two points from a team which is fighting for the same playoff spot).
As he wrestled with the image of a tight division in his head, he laughed to himself.
"However, you want to say it, we need to take these points," Methot said. "That's the bottom line."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika,and listen to his podcast.