Round robin gives Stars chance to prove they deserve to move up standings

The Stars on Oct. 29 trailed the Minnesota Wild 3-0 and looked a mess. However, Alexander Radulov made a superb individual effort to score a goal in the final minute of the period to cut the deficit to 3-1 and that led to a huge turnaround in an eventual 6-3 victory.

They were down 4-2 after two to Edmonton on Nov. 16 and rallied back for an OT win.

They trailed Tampa Bay 3-1 and won in overtime Jan. 27.

They trailed the Blues 2-0 with coach Rick Bowness sidelined by illness and rallied for victory.

It's a great lesson in the team's resilience, but it's also a reminder that details can make a huge difference in a season. Because of those points, the Stars are the fourth seed in the Western Conference and don't have to play a best-of-five qualifying series. Because of those points, the Stars didn't face the Blackhawks in the first round. Because of those points, the Stars have a chance to move from the fourth seed to the first by performing well in a round-robin tournament against the Blues, Avalanche and Golden Knights.

And that's pretty neat.

So it is that they're not taking this opportunity for granted.

"For us, the playoffs started today," Bowness said Saturday about the start of all NHL playoff games. "With this round-robin, we have the opportunity to go from fourth to first seed, so we want to approach this like it's the playoffs."

True, the Stars could lose all three games and not lose a thing in terms of where they stand. But that's a loser's way of looking at things. As much as the elimination process doesn't start until they get to the first round, it sure would be nice to take advantage now. Because if they do, they could face a lesser seed that's maybe a better match-up. If they do, they could eventually avoid a 2-3 showdown in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. If they do, they will probably be much more ready to play when the "real" games start.

One of the great things about the round-robin is that the Stars do get to play three great teams. The Blues are the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Avalanche have an exciting group of young players filled with offensive skill. And the Golden Knights went into the pause on an 11-2-0 run as one of the hottest teams in the league under new coach Pete DeBoer.

The fact the Stars will play Vegas to open the round-robin Monday certainly is an eye-opener.

"That's a very, very good hockey club, very well balanced. They're big, they're strong, they're physical, their defense are very mobile," Bowness said. "They will be a very tough opponent for us. A lot of respect for the coaching staff there, and I have a lot of respect for that team. We've got to play our game for 60 minutes."

Dallas lost a 2-0 game to Nashville Thursday in exhibition play and has practiced twice since that game. They won't skate in the morning because of the 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time start, but players say they know what's on the line.

"Of course, we want to win these games and get good confidence for the playoffs," said defenseman Miro Heiskanen Sunday. "I think everyone knows that we didn't play great in the first exhibition game, so we to show everyone how good a team we are, and we want to get good confidence."

Defensive partner Jamie Oleksiak added: "We approach it as we're in playoffs right now. Obviously, you're not going to get home ice advantage, but if you can get last change, I think that definitely could work in your favor. So that, and just getting ready for a playoff series, these three games are going to be huge. I think everyone is just ready to get things going. Having a long break after the season with everything that's gone on, everyone is just excited to be playing again."

The Stars went through a full practice Sunday and Bowness said he expects the same lineup that ended training camp:

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Denis Gurianov

Mattias Janmark - Joe Pavelski - Alexander Radulov

Andrew Cogliano - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau

Roope Hintz - Jason Dickinson - Corey Perry

Esa Lindell - John Klingberg

Jamie Oleksiak - Miro Heiskanen

Andrej Sekera - Stephen Johns

The coach said both Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin are healthy and ready to go, but declined to name his starting goalie. DeBoer said Robin Lehner will start for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury is the team's No. 1 goalie, but Vegas traded for Lehner at the deadline and have an exceptional backup. Lehner was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season and is 3-0-0 since joining Vegas with a 1.67 GAA and .940 save percentage.

It's a great challenge for the Stars, and Bowness said they are going in with the idea that they have something to prove.

"These round robin games are going to be tough," he said. "Those are three excellent hockey clubs and they deserve to be ahead of us in the standings. And it's up to us to prove that we can beat them and we can move up in the seeding."

Up next: round robin vs. Golden Knights

Monday, 5:30 p.m. CT

TV: FOX Sports Southwest, NHL Network

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

Photo credit: Jeff Toates / Dallas Stars

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

Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.