With lower than per week to go within the NHL’s 2021-22 common season, a high-stakes sport with main playoff implications is ready to go down on Tuesday evening.

Sitting within the second wild-card spot within the Western Convention with three video games left to play, the Dallas Stars are three factors forward of the Vegas Golden Knights, who even have three video games remaining. The 2 groups will received head-to-head in Dallas on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET).

Vegas holds the 2-0 edge within the season sequence, profitable 3-2 in additional time in Dallas on October 27 and 5-4 at T-Cell Enviornment on December 8.

As of Monday, MoneyPuck has the Stars’ odds of reaching the postseason at 87%, whereas the Golden Knights are at 15.3%. Greater up within the West, the Los Angeles Kings’ and Nashville Predators’ odds are each higher than 98%, however they haven’t but formally clinched their playoff spots.

There’s additionally nonetheless one slender path out there for the Vancouver Canucks, sitting at lower than 1%. The Canucks would wish to win all three of their remaining video games whereas the Stars lose all three of theirs, and Vegas solely beats Dallas whereas shedding its two different video games.

An additional time or shootout win for both Dallas or Vegas on Tuesday would get rid of Vancouver, however nonetheless leaves a number of different potential outcomes nonetheless on the desk.

If the Stars win Tuesday’s sport inside 60 minutes, they’ll transfer to 95 factors and lock in a return to the playoffs, after lacking out by 4 factors final yr. The Kings and Predators would additionally clinch, and Vegas would miss the playoffs for the primary time since becoming a member of the NHL in 2017.

Golden Knights On The Brink

If that occurs, it could be a crushing setback for the Vegas franchise, which reached the Stanley Cup Ultimate in its first season and was a part of the ultimate 4 within the final two years.

The membership’s administration, led by president of hockey operations George McPhee and common supervisor Kelly McCrimmon, has by no means hesitated to go after the most important stars who turn out to be out there. Final November, they took arguably their largest swing but after they acquired injured heart Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres.

After present process a man-made disk substitute surgical procedure in his neck, a process which had by no means beforehand been carried out on an NHL participant, Eichel debuted for Vegas on Feb. 16. He has 12 objectives and 21 factors in 31 video games. However he had a six-game level streak snapped within the Golden Knights’ 4-0 loss to Edmonton on April 16 and is now pointless in his final 4 video games.

Earlier than Eichel’s arrival, Vegas was 28-17-9, and sitting one level out of first place within the Pacific Division. Within the ensuing 31 video games, they’ve gone 14-14-3.

Loads of different drama has additionally swirled across the membership. Recently, it’s headlined by goaltender Robin Lehner, whose standing because the membership’s No. 1 netminder was affirmed when Marc-Andre Fleury was traded final July.

However Lehner has handled harm points, and backup Laurent Brossoit additionally hasn’t performed since mid-March. That has left undrafted 25-year-old minor leaguer Logan Thompson to hold the majority of the load in internet.

Final week, ESPN and different retailers reported that Lehner was completed for the season and can be present process knee surgical procedure. Vegas coach Peter DeBoer disputed these studies, and Lehner was in uniform and backed up Thompson within the Golden Knights’ 5-4 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

On Monday, the membership introduced Monday that Lehner is present process shoulder surgical procedure for an harm that he suffered in February, and that Jiri Patera is being known as up from their AHL affiliate. The 23-year-old has by no means performed an NHL sport.

After the March 21 commerce deadline, the Golden Knights had been additionally mired in controversy after their try and commerce ahead Evgenii Dadonov to the Anaheim Geese was reversed by the league. Dadonov had a 10-team no-trade clause which included Anaheim however by some means, it was believed that clause had been voided earlier than Dadonov was acquired by Vegas from the Ottawa Senators final July.

After sitting out two video games earlier than his no-trade clause was verified and the state of affairs was resolved, Dadonov has 14 factors in 13 video games since returning to the Vegas lineup, together with two game-winning objectives. However Vegas is now on the hook for his $5 million cap hit for this season and subsequent yr. That, plus the addition of Eichel’s $10 million, has compelled Vegas into some elaborate wage gymnastics so as to keep cap compliant by the tip of the common season. The cap doesn’t apply within the playoffs — however that gained’t matter if there aren’t any playoffs.

Stars At A Crossroads

Two years in the past, the Dallas Stars went on an unlikely run within the Stanley Cup bubble in Edmonton. They knocked out the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and the Golden Knights earlier than falling in six video games to the Tampa Bay Lightning within the 2020 Stanley Cup Ultimate.

At the moment, Rick Bowness had lately been elevated from his affiliate coach function after Jim Montgomery was dismissed on account of inappropriate habits. There are whispers that Bowness, 67, might not return to the Dallas bench subsequent season and will retire — an final result that most likely turns into extra probably if the Stars don’t attain the postseason.

In 2020, well-travelled veteran Anton Khudobin performed hero in internet for the Stars after Ben Bishop was sidelined with an harm which has now confirmed to be career-ending. Early this season, free-agent signing Braden Holtby helped carry the load as Khudobin struggled. When Holtby was damage, the online was turned over to 23-year-old Jake Oettinger, who has been ably assisted by under-the-radar trade-deadline acquisition Scott Wedgewood.

The Stars’ skaters are a hodgepodge of grizzled veterans and up-and-coming kids.

After hitting a house run when he acquired then-34-year-old Joe Pavelski as an unrestricted free agent in 2019, Dallas common supervisor Jim Nill walked an analogous path when he signed 36-year-old defenseman Ryan Suter final summer time.

Pavelski stays the Stars’ main scorer and has signed a one-year contract extension for subsequent season. However with franchise stalwarts Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin now seemingly on the draw back of their profession arcs, the baton is being handed to younger forwards Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson, who’re each flirting with 40-goal seasons, and dynamic defenseman Miro Heiskanen.

Inconsistency has plagued the Stars this season, protecting them on the playoff bubble for many of the yr. However they’ve been a powerful group on dwelling ice, with a file of 25-10-3. And their last three regular-season video games will all be performed at American Airways Heart — towards Vegas on Tuesday, adopted by the non-contending Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday and Anaheim Geese on Friday.

Vegas should get at the least some extent on Tuesday evening so as to hold their playoff hopes alive. Dallas has just a few days’ extra runaway out there if wanted.

This Friday will mark the final day of regular-season motion for the NHL’s playoff-bound groups. The Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets, each outdoors the playoff image, will make up a sport that was postponed on account of climate on Sunday, Might 1, and the primary spherical of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is ready to kick off on Monday, Might 2.