Did You Know...

For the second season in a row, the Dallas Stars finished the 2007-08 season in 3rd place in the fierce Pacific Division. It may not have been what they hoped for, but it was enough to get them into the playoffs, where they made it all the way to the Western Conference finals before Stanley Cup winners the Detroit Red Wings knocked them out. For the 2008-09 season, the Stars hope that relying more on younger players will mean the difference between winning the Stanley Cup and being an also-ran. The Stars have plenty of players that fit the bill, guys in their late 20’s who are old enough to have experience but young enough to stay healthy: captain Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro (team scoring leader) and Sean Avery, among others. Of course, a successful team also needs seasoned veterans and the Stars have those too, with players like Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Marty Turco. Will the youngsters propel the Stars to a 2009 Stanley Cup win? Get your tickets to American Airlines Center and see if the Dallas Stars go all the way in the 2008-09 season!

Seeded #2 among the eight Western Conference hockey teams in the 2005-06 NHL Playoffs, the Dallas Stars had plenty of postseason experience. The franchise had previously made it into the tournament 26 times, first as the Minnesota North Stars, and many times since their 1993 move to Dallas, including all but one year of play since 1997. The Stars had gone all the way to capture the Stanley Cup only once, in 1998-99. Dallas fans snatched up tickets to see them face off against the #7 seeded Colorado Avalanche to see if this would be the year the Stars would do it again. It was not to be, however, as the Avalanche buried them in five games, only to be eliminated by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in four straight.