Historical Moments:
1993/94: After 26 mediocre years in Minnesota the North Stars moved to Dallas becoming the
Stars after flittering with the notion of the name Lone Stars. On October 5th
the State of Texas finally had a NHL team of its own, after years of Minor League
Hockey and the WHA's Houston Aeros, as the Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings
at Reunion Arena 6-4. The Stars would go on to have a solid first season in Dallas
as Mike Modano scored 50 goals with the Stars finishing in 3rd place in the
Central Division with a solid 42-29-13. In the playoffs the Stars got off to a
fast start sweeping the St. Louis Blues in 4 straight games. However, in the 2nd
round they would be upset by the Vancouver Canucks in 5 games.
1994/95: The Stars second season in Dallas would be delayed by a 4-month lockout that wiped
out half the season. When the season did start the Stars struggled posting a
record of 17-23-8, while sneaking into the 8th and final playoff spot. Along the
way longtime Stars hero Neal Broten is traded to the New Jersey Devils. In the
playoffs the Stars would find themselves in a quick hole dropping the first 3
games to the Detroit Red Wings before falling in 5 games.
1995/96: The Stars struggle all season as Bob Gainey resigns as Coach to concentrate full
on his duties as General Manager. Under his replacement Ken Hitchcock the Stars
would go on to finish in last place with a disappointing record of 26-42-14.
1996/97: With the acquisition of Pat Verbeek and Sergei Zubov the Stars were improved in all
facets of the game going from last to first while posting a solid record of
48-26-8, eclipsing 100 points for the first time in franchise history. Down the
stretch the Stars would reacquire Neal Broten who was winding down a stellar 17-year
career. However, in the playoffs the Stars struggled as they were beaten
by the Edmonton Oilers in 7 games losing 3 games, including the finale in overtime.
1997/98: With the acquisition of goalie Eddie Belfour the Stars are even stronger capturing
the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL at 49-22-11. In the playoffs
the Stars would jump out to a 2-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks. However,
after losing the next 2 games in San Jose memories of last year's failures began
to crop up. The Stars would recover to win Game 5 by a score of 3-2, and would
go on to take the series in 6 games on Mike Keane's overtime goal. Facing the
Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round the Stars dropped Game 2 at home and went to
Edmonton tied at a game apiece. Game 3 would go into overtime scoreless
when Benoit Houge scored 13:47 in to give the Stars Game 3 and momentum in the
series, as they went on to win in 5 games. In the Conference Finals against the
Detroit Red Wings the Stars would find themselves in a hole dropping 3 of the
first 4 games. Facing elimination in Game 5 Jamie Langenbrunner would score 46
seconds into overtime. However, the Wings would shut out the Stars 2-0 in Game
6 and would go on to win their 2nd straight Stanley Cup.
1998/99: After falling short in the Conference Finals the Stars add another weapon by signing
Brett Hull who finishes 2nd on the team in scoring despite missing 22 games
as the Stars are moved to the Pacific Division and repeat as President's Trophy
Champions with a 51-19-12 record. Entering the playoffs with a Stanley Cup or
bust mind set the Stars sweep the Edmonton Oilers in 4 straight. However, it was
not as easy as it appeared as all 4 games were decided by 1 goal including the
finale on Joe Nieuwendyk's goal in a 3rd overtime. In the 2nd round the Stars
would take the first 2 games at home against the St. Louis Blues but found themselves
in a must win situation in Game 5 as the Blues won the next 2 in St. Louis
in overtime. Eddie Belfour would come up big in Game 5 as the Stars won 3-1.
They would go on to take Game 6 in overtime on a goal by Mike Modano. In the
Conference Finals for the 2nd straight year the Stars were matched up against
the Colorado Avalanche. Both teams yielded nothing as ten series was tied at 2
after 4 games. However, in Game 5 in Dallas the Stars found themselves facing elimination
as the Avalanche erupted for 7 goals. Needing a big road win the Stars
forced a 7th game with a dominating 4-1 victory in Game 6. Back home for Game
7 the Stars but away the Avalanche with another 4-1 victory. In the Stanley Cup
Finals the Stars and Buffalo Sabres would battle evenly through 4 games before
Eddie Belfour put forth his best effort in the postseason to take Game 5 at
home 2-0. With the cup 1 win away the Stars and Sabres battled deep into overtime
tied at 1, in Buffalo before Brett Hull scored a disputed goal with 5 minuets
left in the 3rd OT to deliver the Stars their first Stanley Cup. With a NHL record
6 game winning goals Joe Nieuwendyk was awarded the Conn Smythe for playoff
MVP.
1999/00: Looking to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions the Stars remained one of the top teams
in the West posting a solid 43-29-10-6 record for their 4th straight division
title. In the playoffs the Stars would roll through the first 2 rounds needing
just 5 games in each series to knock of the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks
to reach the Western Conference Finals. In a rematch with the Colorado Avalanche
the Stars found themselves in another Game 7, which they won 3-2 surviving
a late flurry by the Avalanche. In the Stanley Cup Finals the Stars would
get off to a rocky start as they were blown out by the Devils in New Jersey 7-3.
After taking Game 2 on a late 3rd period goal by Brett Hull the Stars were unable
to do anything at home scoring just 2 goals the Devils grabbed a 3-1 series
lead. Facing elimination in Game 5 the Stars continued to struggle, as they
were unable to get the puck past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. However, Eddie Belfour
was able to blank the Devils and the game went into a 3rd overtime where
Mike Modano broke the scoreless dead lock to give the Stars some hope. Back home
for Game 6 the Stars and Devils continued to play tight defensive hockey as
they game went into overtime tied at 1. However, midway through the 2nd overtime
Jason Arnott of the Devils beat Belfour on a one timer to end the Stars Stanley
Cup reign.
2000/01: Hoping to win back the Stanley Cup the Stars again captured their division posting
a solid 48-24-8-2 record. Facing a failure foe the Stars and Edmonton Oilers
battled back and forth through the first 4 games; with each team each game being
decided by 1 goal including 3 in overtime. Game 5 would also go to overtime as
the Stars took a 3-2 series lead on a goal by Kurt Muller. In Game 6 in Edmonton
the stars would not need overtime as they advanced to the 2ned round with a
3-1 win. However, in the 2nd round the Stars would suddenly run out of gas as
they were swept by the St. Louis Blues in 4 straight games.
2001/02: Moving into the brand new American Airlines Center the Stars got off to a slow start
as goalie Eddie Belfour struggled through one of his worst season facing the
prospect of Free Agency. To shake thing up Coach Ken Hitchcock was fired, and
replaced by Rick Wilson. However, the Stars continued to play catch up. With the
prospect of missing the playoffs the Stars traded 1999 Conn Smythe winner Joe
Nieuwendyk, and Jamie Langenbrunner to the New Jersey Devils for Rand McKay and
Jason Arnott who scored the heartbreaking game winning goal in the 2000 Cup
Finals. The Stars would go on to post a respectable record of 35-28-13-5. However,
it would not be enough for the playoffs as they fell 4 points short of the
final playoff spot. Following the season Rick Wilson would go back to being an
assistant coach as the Stars brought in Dave Tippett.
2002/03: With the departure of Goalie Eddie Belfour the Stars gave the job to Marty Turco
who had one of the best seasons for a goalie in NHL history posting the lowest
GAA since 1940 at 1.76. However missing 18 games late in the season likely cost
him a shot at the Vezina. Nonetheless the Stars posted the best record in the
Western Conference at 46-17-15-4, along the way two-way star Jere Lehtinen won
his 3rd Selke Trophy. In the playoffs the Stars met a familiar foe in the Edmonton
Oilers Once again the Oilers would prove pesky winning 2 of the first 3 games.
However, the Stars would prove the better team again by winning the next 3
games to take the series in 6 games. The Stars second round series against the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim got off to an unbelievable start as the game went deep
into overtime tied at 3. However, Ducks Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 60
shots as the Ducks scored early in the 5th OT. Game 2 would be more of the same
as the Ducks stunned the Stars in overtime. Desperately needing a win the Stars
bounced back to take Game 3 in Anaheim. However, the Ducks would take a 3-1
series lead by breaking a scoreless tie late in the 3rd period of Game 4. In Game
5 the Stars finally solved Giguere by scoring 4 goals to keep their playoff
hopes alive. However, the Stars dreams of a return trip to the Stanley Cup
Finals would end in heartbreak fashion as the Ducks broke a 3-3 tie with 1:06
left in Game 6, on a goal by Sandi Ozolinsh.
2003/04: Coming off their disappointing playoff loss the Stars would get off to a shaky start
as they played mediocre hockey through the first 3 months of the season with
a losing record. As the calendar turned to 2004 the Stars began to find their
game as they posted a 9-4-3 record in January. As the season wore on the Stars
would get stronger climbing up the playoff ladder and eventually into 2nd place
in the Pacific Division where they finished with a solid 41-26-13-2 record, as
Goalie Marty Turco had another outstanding season with a 1.98 GAA. However the
Stars could not carry their momentum into the playoffs as they were beaten by
the Colorado Avalanche in 5 games.
2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out
2005/06: Coming out of the Lock Out the Stars remained one of the strongest teams in the Western
Conference as they won 4 of their first 5 games on the way to a solid October,
November would be even better for Dallas as they won 10 of 13 games an took
over first place in the Pacific Division, a position they would hold most of
the season, as they went on to finish with a terrific record of 53-23-6. One
reason for the Stars success was their strong play in shoot outs as Jussi Jokinen
was almost automatic when 1-on-1 with the goalie and the game on the line making
10-of-13 shot attempts successful with a dazzling wrister that seemed to have
all the NHL's top goalies bewildered. Also performing strong in shoot outs
was Sergei Zubov who used a slow but steady backhand to go 7-for-12, as the Stars
won 12 of 13 games that went to a shoot out. However, in the playoffs the Stars
would stumble right from the start losing Game 1, by a score of 5-2 as the
Avalanche scored 5 unanswered goals as the Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Game
2 would see the Stars suffer another setback at home as the Stars lost in overtime
5-4 on a goal by Joe Sakic. On the road in Game 3 the Stars appeared to be
on the road to getting back in the series leading 3-2 in the final minute when
the Avalanche forced overtime on a goal by Andrew Brunette, while Alex Tanguay
won the game just 69 seconds into OT to put the Stars in a 0-3 hole. The Stars
would avoid the sweep with 4-1 win in Game 4, but overtime would doom them again
in Game 5 as Brunette scored the series winner at 6:05 ending the Stars playoffs
after just 5 games.
2006/07: There was a buzz in Dallas when the season began as the Stars were to host the first
NHL All-Star Game in three years, while on and off the ice there were changes
on the ice as Jason Arnott, Willie Mitchell, and goaltender Johan Hedberg to
leave as free agents, while Eric Lindros, Jeff Halpern, Matthew Barnaby and Darryl
Sydor were signed. In addition Mike Modano was bumped out as captain for Brendan
Morrow. Modano the last remaining player from the team's days in Minnesota
took the move in stride as the Stars got off to a strong start winning 11 of
their first 13 games. Overall it would be a good year for the Dallas Stars as
they posted a strong record of 50-25-7. However, in one of the best division in
the NHL the Stars would have to settle for 3rd place. While the Stars were making
their playoff drive Mike Modano was making history first becoming the second
American Born player to score 500 goals, and then breaking Joe Mullen's record
of 502 goals scored by an American Born player. In the playoff the Stars faced
the Vancouver Canucks, in what was billed a battle of great goalies. However,
Game 1 in Vancouver was a shoot out as the Stars took 76 shots at Roberto Luongo,
losing in overtime 5-4. Game 2 was a little more like the experts predicted
as Mart Turco stopped 35 shots as the Stars evened the series with a 2-0 win.
The goalies were the story again in Game 3 as the series shifted to Dallas with
the Canucks winning again in overtime 2-1. After another 2-1 loss in Game 4, the
Stars found themselves facing elimination in Vancouver down 3 games to 1. After
a scoreless regulation 60 minutes the game went to overtime, where the Stars
kept their hopes alive on a power play goal by Brendan Morrow. Turco would blank
the Canucks again in Game 6 as the Stars finally won a playoff game on home
ice 2-0. However, back in Vancouver for Game 7 the Stars would be overwhelmed
by a 3rd period barrage as the Canucks won the series with three third period goals;
turning an early 1-0 Stars lead into a 4-1 win for the Canucks.
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