The Dallas Stars are entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs on a different path this season.
When they host the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their first-round series on Saturday, the Stars will be riding a five-game winning streak.
A year ago, Dallas entered the playoffs on a season-long seven-game skid, but then went on to reach the Western Conference finals.
“Last year, we were comfortable and confident going into the playoffs, but it is nice going in winning,” Dallas forward Sam Steel said. “There are less questions.”
The Stars are also as healthy as they’ve been in a while.
They are still without forwards Tyler Seguin and Roope Hintz, but defenseman Miro Heiskanen returned to practice on Friday after missing the past three games with a lower-body injury. Steel and defenseman Nils Lundkvist returned for the 4-3 shootout win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday in the regular-season finale.
“After missing some time, there is a little bit of rust to break off and get your touches in and get back into thinking at that speed of the game,” Steel said. “It’s good to get back and get one before the playoffs.”
The five-game winning streak also allowed the Stars to reach 50 wins for the third straight season and seventh time in franchise history. Jason Robertson led the team with 45 goals and 96 points.
“It’s hard to get 50 in this league,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Good on our guys. Just the fact they were thinking about it shows you about our group. It’s quite an accomplishment by them.”
Minnesota, which has known it would be facing Dallas in the first round for more than a week, concluded its regular season with a 3-2 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
The Wild alternated starts by goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt during most of the season and will likely continue that pattern in the postseason.
“We have two excellent goaltenders,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “We’ve had two excellent goaltenders all year long.”
Wallstedt, a rookie, finished with the second-best save percentage in the NHL during the regular season (.916) while Gustavsson was tied for 18th (.904).
“What we do know is Wally’s a strong goalie. He’s played really well. He’s come a long way in his development. He’s a top-end NHL goalie,” Hynes said. “Both players (are). Gus has got great experience. Great goalie. He’s been a backbone for us. He’s been the leader of the goaltending corps between the two of those guys. So, you can’t go wrong with the decision.”
Gustavsson has watched in awe as Wallstedt has developed into a top-flight goalie this season, as well as while they were Olympic teammates with Sweden.
“Night in and night out, he’s always given the team a chance to win,” Gustavsson said of Wallstedt. “It’s very nice to have a duo like that, if you don’t have to feel the pressure to play all the games. You know if he’s in the pipes, the team has a very good chance to win anyway. It’s a great duo to have.”
Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes missed practice on Thursday and Friday because of an illness, but he’s expected to fly to Dallas later on Friday and be available for Game 1, Hynes said.
