With their 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken, the Dallas Stars have clinched the Central Division for the first time since 2015-16. They also sit atop the Western Conference with 111 points and can clinch the conference crown if the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Edmonton Oilers in any fashion later this evening.
The Stars could be considered a Stanley Cup favorite at this point. Led up front by a mix of ageless veterans in captain Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, and Matt Duchene, and young guns in Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Logan Stankoven, they might have the deepest forward corps in the NHL. To put into perspective how deep their roster is, they have eight 20-goal scorers and 11 that have hit double digits.
The Stars also have a star on the backend in Miro Heiskanen and a starting goaltender who has the potential to get hot at the right time in Jake Oettinger. Basically, they have all the ingredients to make a run for their first championship since 1998-99 when Mike Modano and Brett Hull were leading the charge.
As for who the Stars will be facing in the first round, that is still up in the air. While all the playoff spots have been clinched, positioning can still change with the Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings all still jockeying around the two wild card spots.
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