Stars clinch playoff berth behind Pavelski, top line

The Dallas Stars clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after getting a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes at American Airlines Center on Wednesday.

The Stars (45-30-6) are back in the playoffs after not qualifying last season. They advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019-20, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The top line of left wing Jason Robertson, center Roope Hintz and right wing Joe Pavelski has been a massive reason for Dallas' success this season. Pavelski leads the Stars with 81 points (27 goals, 54 assists). Robertson, a finalist last season for the Calder Trophy, voted as the NHL's top rookie, is second with 78 points (40 goals, 38 assists) and Hintz is third with 71 points (37 goals, 34 assists).
There's a wide margin between those three and the rest of the offense; center Tyler Seguin, who missed all but three games last season after having right hip arthroscopy and labral repair surgery on Nov. 2, 2020, is fourth with 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists). Forward Jamie Benn has scored 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists).

Goalie Jake Oettinger has started most of the season, going 29-15-1 with a 2.54 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and one shutout in 47 games (45 starts). Braden Holtby, signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 28, 2021, is 10-10-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .913 save percentage in 24 games (22 starts).
Dallas added two players prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. Forward Vladislav Namestnikov was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on March 21. Namestnikov has four points (two goals, two assists) in 14 games with the Stars. Goalie Scott Wedgewood was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft on March 20. Wedgewood is 3-1-3 with a 3.05 GAA, .913 save percentage and one shutout in eight games (seven starts).
Here's a look at the Stars' path to a playoff berth:
Most Valuable Player: Pavelski. If the 37-year-old forward was supposed to be slowing down, no one told him. Besides his team-leading and NHL career-high 81 points, topping the 79 points (41 goals, 38 assists) he scored with the San Jose Sharks in 2013-14, he also is tied with Robertson for the Dallas lead with 12 power-play goals and leads with 25 power-play points. Pavelski, who signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Stars to avoid becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, has scored 119 points (61 goals, 58 assists) in 161 playoff games.
Unsung Hero: Oettinger. The goaltending situation has been interesting, given that Dallas began the season with four possibilities at the position (Oettinger, Holtby, Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin). Bishop had to retire because of injuries, Khudobin was assigned to the minors (and later had arthroscopic hip surgery) and Holtby missed nearly a month with a lower-body injury. That has left a bulk of the work to Oettinger, and the 23-year-old has handled everything just fine. He has only a small taste of the postseason, however, playing 36:40 over two games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He did not allow a goal on eight shots.
Memorable Moment: The Stars had one of their biggest comebacks of the season when they scored twice in the final six minutes of the third period to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Jan. 8. Pavelski scored with 5:01 remaining and Hintz scored with 3:46 to play. The Penguins were on a 10-game winning streak and it marked their first loss of the season when leading after two periods (18-0-1 at the time).

Key Number: 54.7. Dallas' face-off percentage, second in the NHL behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (55.1 percent). Center Luke Glendening leads the Stars, winning 58.5 percent of his face-offs (minimum 70 games), followed by Seguin (56.0), Benn (55.3) and center Radek Faksa (54.9).
Question Mark: Production. That top line is stellar, but Dallas is averaging 2.83 goals per game, tied for 21st in the NHL; that's the lowest average of any team that qualified for the playoffs. Unless others step up to take the load off Pavelski, Robertson and Hintz, it won't be surprising to see a good amount of low-scoring games this postseason.
Reason Stars Can Win It All: Dallas has many of the same players that reached the Cup Final in 2020, so it knows what it takes this time of year. The Stars' power play has been good at 22.2 percent (12th in the NHL). Dallas also gets solid production from its defensemen; John Klingberg leads the Stars at the position with 47 points (six goals, 41 assists), Miro Heiskanen has 35 points (five goals, 30 assists) and Ryan Suter has 32 points (seven goals, 25 assists). Dallas plays a strong all-around game that can succeed in the postseason.