Stars rekindle confidence entering first round: 'We'll be ready for them'

Well, the Stars found their game just in the nick of time.

At least they hope they have.

After a meandering journey through Return to Play training camp and a painfully long trip through Round-Robin hockey that was less than intense, Dallas showed some emotion Sunday and rallied for a 2-1 shootout victory against the St. Louis Blues. Now, they jump right into a first-round playoff series with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

READ MORE: [Khudobin shines for Stars in rallying for shootout win over Blues]

And while there's no guarantee they have hit playoff speed yet, they do feel a lot better after the win.

"This game kind of re-established our game and got us back to an understanding of what it takes," said forward Joe Pavelski, who tied the game with 31.4 seconds remaining and the extra attacker on the ice. "Relief? No. Confidence a little bit, and we'll keep moving forward."

They get that chance pretty quickly. With the NHL operating in bubbles because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the playoff schedule will also be unique. The Stars and Flames play Tuesday Thursday and Friday. That's a pretty frenetic pace for a team that has been slogging so far, but it might be just what Dallas needs.

The Stars were shut out in their exhibition game with Nashville, scored three goals in the second period against Vegas only to lose 5-3, and then were shut out again by Colorado. The offensive frustration continued against the Blues, as Dallas was down 1-0 until the final minute.

That seemed to be building a lot of negative juju for the team, but when they won for the first time since Return to Play started, you could see some really good vibes.

"We finish off on a good note, and that's always great," said goalie Anton Khudobin. "Good feeling, good atmosphere, music in the dressing room, you know the routine. It's always great."

MATCHUP SET: [Video: Bowness thrilled with Stars' performance in victory]

Khudobin could be a huge player in this first round series. No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop has missed the past two games because of a possible injury. If he's not ready to go Tuesday, Khudobin could get the start. And even if he is ready, there has to be a temptation to play both goalies in the back-to-back situation.

That could actually be an advantage for the Stars. Dallas was second in the NHL in goals against average this season and Khudobin led all goalies in save percentage at .930.

The Stars were 1-1-1 against the Flames this season, with all three games played before Christmas. Both Dallas and Calgary changed coaches in the middle of the season, so past film might only show so much. The Flames beat Winnipeg in the play-in round, and looked good doing it.

"They're playing very, very well right now," Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. "They're getting the goaltending, they're getting timely goals. They played Winnipeg, a team that was beat up, obviously with some key injuries, but they're a very confident team right now and they've got some very dangerous players, and they've got some elite defensemen back there that play big minutes. We know we have a very, very tough opponent coming into this. We have a ton of respect for that team. We'll be ready for them."

At least that prospect looks more realistic now. The Stars outshot St. Louis 38-22 and created several great scoring chances. However, they continue to have problems finishing and putting the puck in the net. But the Blues game was much better than the performance against the Avalanche, and that is notable.

"Urgency going into this game was a little bit more, I would say, correct," Pavelski said. "It's going to be moving forward. A series can go by really fast or it could go long. There's going to be ups and downs throughout it. There's no one taking a deep breath. Obviously, we established some parts of our game, executed a little bit better. We played a hard game for 60 minutes just to win in a shootout."

And they know it will take more than that to beat the Flames. Still, they found something Sunday, and that has to feel a little bit good.

"The most important thing was how we responded today, and you have to love the way we responded," Bowness said. "That's all that matters. What's past is past. What matters is how we played today in a game that we had a chance to move up in the seeding, and how we responded to the pressure of that.

"Absolutely love the way we responded. We played a great game."

Round 1, Game 1: Stars vs. Flames

Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. CT

Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton

TV:NBCSN

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Video: Bowness thrilled with Stars' performance in victoryis a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter Video: Bowness thrilled with Stars' performance in victory, and listen to his Video: Bowness thrilled with Stars' performance in victory.