The Dallas Stars of 2018/19 bare a striking resemblance to the LA King of 2011/12, who won the Stanley Cup. I took an in-depth look at just how similar these teams are, and why Dallas could have the same success.
Dallas Stars – Moving on
Early and often in the Stars first-round series against Nashville, it was clear they were going to play an undefined, but specific style. When speed was needed, they had a line. If a big hit was going to change momentum, they had the right guys out there. Whenever Nashville started to take advantage of a match-up, Dallas was right on time with adjustments.
Something all too familiar started to present itself. I had seen this before. A team with minimal expectations and a new Head Coach, winning with confidence against a better team in the first round. Then it clicked. The LA Kings came into the 2011/12 playoffs and should’ve just been happy to be there. Instead, they put on a show and hardly broke a sweat in the process. Going 16-4 and running the Devils (who were also a postseason surprise) the Kings celebrated the first of two cups in a three-year span. Here’s why the Dallas Stars are going to win the cup in a similar fashion.
Regular Season “Success”
For those of you who don’t remember, the LA Kings (93 points) came in as an 8th seed in 2012. They struggled to score goals in the regular season and didn’t even have a player over 80 points. 29th overall (out of 30) in goals for, while Anze Kopitar led the team with 25 goals, and 76 points. Offensive struggles plagued the Kings all year, and they finished the year with at an underwhelming 2.36 goals per game. As soon as the puck dropped in game one of their first round match up against Vancouver, that all changed. The LA’s offensive struggled disappeared, and they finished with 2.85 goals per game. Half a goal per game better, just at the right time.
The Dallas Stars (95 points) came in as the first Wild Card team against the Nashville Predators a heavy underdog. Nashville has been a regular in the playoffs this decade and won the highly competitive Central division. The Stars, similar to the ’12 Kings, finished 29th (out of 31) in the NHL in goals, at 2.55 goals per game. Tyler Seguin led the team with 33 goals and 80 points, after a very slow start to the season. You might remember Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites calling Seguin and Jaime Benn’s (27 goals, 53 points) production “fucking horseshit” early in the season. While that didn’t spark an offensive resurgence, it definitely helped spark the Stars to a better season than we expected at that point. The Stars averaged three goals per game against the Predators and won the series in six games.
Yes, it is way too early to tell if they can keep it up, but the improvement can’t be overlooked.
Stars stars v Kings kings
Wow. Even I’m upset with that heading. But still, these similarities among the veteran talent on both teams are too close to ignore. Take a look at the top-4 scorers from each team –
Seguin – 33 goals, 80 points | Kopitar – 25 goals, 76 points
Radulov – 29 goals, 72 points | Williams – 22 goals. 59 points
Benn – 27 goals, 53 points | Brown – 22 goals, 54 points
Klingberg – 10 goals, 45 points | Richards – 18 goals, 44 points
The only noticeable difference is the second overall scorers, but the difference among these players is just 17 points over the course of their respected seasons.
Goaltenders for the ages
If you’re wondering how those two teams with mediocre offenses made the playoffs, I can sum it up in one word: goalies. Jonathan Quick and Ben Bishop had unbelievable seasons between the pipes. Both teams finished 2nd in the NHL in goals against. Quick carried a heavier load for his team, starting 68 games for the Kings. Bishop battled injury and was part of a successful 1-2 punch in Dallas, but still started 45 games. Quick finished the regular season with a .929 save percentage and 1.95 GAA. Bishop, .934 save percentage and 1.98 GAA, eerily similar to Quick.
The playoffs were no different for either netminder, as Quick finished with a .946 S% and 1.41 GAA in 20 games. Bishop has only played 6 games so far this postseason but is boasting a .945 S% and 1.90 GAA. Consistency was key for Quick in 2012, and it’ll be just as important for Bishop this time around.
(In)Experience on both sides of the boards
While both teams had plenty of veterans, they relied on plenty of young talent along the way as well. Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov were two young defensemen that carried their weight for the Kings throughout the playoffs. The Stars have put their faith in rookie D-man Meiro Heiskanen and fellow rookie F Roope Hintz so far this post season and it has paid off.
Behind the bench, Darryl Sutter in LA and Jim Montgomery in Dallas both experienced success in their first year with their teams. Sutter, a long time NHL coach, was hired early in the 2011/12 season, and Montgomery was after the 2017/18 season. Both coaches brought a defensive system to the table, and it immediately worked out in both situations.
Whether or not the Dallas Stars are able to reenact the success of the Kings this year remains to be seen, but it’s enough to make you wonder. The Stars kick off their second-round series against the red hot St. Louis Blues tonight, and all signs point to another low scoring series. Dallas showed plenty of promise against Nashville, and with all the upsets in the first round, they easily became my new favorite to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Finals.
What do you think? Let me know on twitter – @Gehrholz_K and make sure you go check out the rest of our awesome hockey content hereon the site.
