Five questions answered for the new Stars fan

If you're just getting interested in the Stars, you are in luck. They are having one of their best seasons in recent memory and seem to have a legitimate chance at getting to the Stanley Cup Final or even winning it all.
So, what do you need to know as you get ready for Monday's playoff opener against the Minnesota Wild?

Who is coach Pete DeBoer and how did he get here?
DeBoer is a 54-year-old veteran of 1,097 NHL regular season games. He is on his fifth NHL team but has a history of doing very well in his first year. DeBoer took New Jersey and San Jose to the Stanley Cup Final in his first seasons with those teams and took Vegas to the Western Conference Final in his first season there. He has a 68-55 record in 123 playoff games. DeBoer was let go by Vegas after missing the playoffs last season, but he also dealt with an immense amount of injuries. He was hired by the Stars to help develop some offense into a team who had become a little stale and he has done just that. DeBoer has created more scoring for Dallas while still improving the defensive core that has been a staple of this organization. This season, the Stars had 108 points vs. 98 last seasons. They were plus-67 on goal differential vs. minus-8. They improved their goal scoring from 21st (2.84) to seventh (3.45) while still improving their goals against from 14th (2.98) to third (2.62). The power play went from 11th to fifth and the penalty kill went from 19th to third. That's real progress. The interesting thing about the NHL's coaching shuffle is that the coaches are good, but management still finds success in getting different coaches for their respective teams. Former Stars coach Rick Bowness went to Winnipeg and got the Jets into the playoffs. DeBoer came to Dallas and made significant improvements. Former Boston coach Bruce Cassidy took DeBoer's place in Vegas and helped them win the Pacific Division, and former Stars head coach Jim Montgomery (after a stint as assistant coach in St. Louis) took Cassidy's spot in Boston and posted the best record in NHL history. That coaching carousel should make for some fun playoff matchups.
What is the significance of Jason Robertson's 109-point season?
Maybe the most impressive thing about Robertson's record-setting season is the fact he's just 23. Since the Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, only two players have posted individual seasons of 90 points or more: Mike Modano with 93 points in 1993-94 and Brad Richards with 91 points in 2009-10. Robertson blew past those numbers and posted the second-best individual season in franchise history with 46 goals and 63 assists for 109 points. Bobby Smith had 114 points for the Minnesota North Stars in 1981-82, but that was in a different era where scoring was more prevalent. One could say that Robertson's numbers were aided by a high-flying league. Robertson finished sixth overall, while Jamie Benn won the league scoring title in 2014-15 with 87 points. So, everything is relevant. That said, what Robertson is doing right now is special. He is in his third full year as an NHL player and has 234 points in 210 games. Benn had 162 points in his first 222 games, Modano had 214 in 235 games, and Tyler Seguin had 121 in 201 games. Robertson is off to a fast start. The next step, of course, is transferring that hot hand to the postseason. Robertson had 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in seven playoff games last season and would very much like to improve on that.
GM Jim Nill has added significant forward depth in players like Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi. Will that make a big difference in scoring?
Nill should get a lot of credit for putting this team together. Not only did he add Marchment as a free agent last summer, as well as Domi and Dadonov before the trade deadline, but he also had the courage to call up 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston and added Colin Miller and Nils Lundkvist on defense. All of this has given the Stars the ability to score with just about anybody in the league and also created a power play that clicks at 25.0 percent. While Dallas has been healthy for much of the season, both Seguin and Marchment suffered injuries late in the year. Because of that, the line of Seguin and Marchment with Domi has not had much time together. They played together for the final game of the regular season and are hoping to really make some noise in the playoffs. "They have the potential to be the story of the playoffs for us," DeBoer said on Sunday. "They have the potential to be a real mis-match line for other lines, for defense pairs. I've liked what I've seen in the short time we've had them together, but those guys have to get together and talk through it and develop chemistry quickly . . . and be difference-makers."
Can Jake Oettinger be just as good as he was in last year's playoffs, and can he handle the mental pressure of playing in Minnesota in front of friends and family?
Oettinger has been fantastic in his first year as a No. 1 goalie. He helped the Stars get to seven games in the first round against Calgary last season and lost in overtime in Game 7. He led the NHL in playoff save percentage at .954 and was second in GAA at 1.81. He said he was determined to build on that this season and did just that. He ranked third in wins at 37-11-11, 10th in goals against average at 2.37 and eighth in save percentage at .919. Even better, he finished on a hot streak when Scott Wedgewood returned from injury. Down the stretch, Oettinger was 7-1-0 with a 1.37 GAA and .942 save percentage. All of that said, he will have some mental challenges. Oettinger grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and played in the state championship hockey tournament at Xcel Energy Center. His favorite goalie growing up was Marc- André Fleury, and he wears No. 29, because of Fleury. The 38-year-old Fleury plays for the Wild.
Was the Bennaissance real, and can captain Jamie Benn continue his hot hand in the playoffs?
Jamie Benn's numbers have been slowing down for about four years. After posting almost a point a game in 2017-18, the captain followed with points per game seasons of 0.68, 0.57, 0.67, and 0.56. There were concerns that the now-33-year-old was wearing down and might never be able to post big numbers again. However, he was placed on a line with 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston this season, and the two have clicked. Benn has 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points in 82 games or 0.95 points per game. He is the unquestioned leader of the team and was a driving force in getting the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2020 bubble. The picture of him sitting alone in the dressing room after a Game 6 loss to Tampa Bay is one of the most iconic in franchise history. The guess is that loss will fuel Benn this season, and that his drive will be contagious.
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