Not all .500 records are cut from the same cloth. In college football, a .500 record might get you a trip to the Belk Bowl and a contract extension. In the National Hockey League, where not all games have losers, huffing and puffing along at the .500 level in late January is more likely to spell the end of something.
But with the Dallas Stars, who rallied past Buffalo for a 4-3 win Thursday night at the AAC, we just don't know what that is.
It certainly feels as though it could be the end for head coach Lindy Ruff if, one year removed from being the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Stars fail to qualify for the postseason for the second time in his four years.