At 12:08 a.m. 176 days ago, the Dallas Stars wrapped up yet another disappointing regular season campaign. And though they defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on the road and picked up one last win, it wasn’t enough to overshadow the negative energy encircling the franchise.
The Stars had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second season in a row. And at the beginning of both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, the expectations for Dallas were through the roof. We’re talking “Stanley Cup contender” level expectations here.
The fact that the Stars hadn’t even found their way into the final 16 on either occasion brought about a serious sense of worry and urgency.