Three Thoughts - Stars Bow Out To Oilers
This Western Conference Finals loss was the worst of the three and everything stinks.
I tried so hard, and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
This will be the last Dallas Stars piece for a while because last night was the final game in their run.
They ended their 2024-25 campaign last night by losing to Edmonton once more. This time it was Game 5 in Dallas by the final score of 6-3 to the end the series and the year as the Oilers move on to play for the Stanley Cup.
For the third straight season, this is where it ends for Dallas and each time it has crumbled in complete shambles with a final game at home that will not make anyone have memories that will make them smile.
In 2023, on May 29, they lost Game 6 on home ice to the Vegas Golden Knights by the score of 6-0 as they meekly went into the summer by falling badly against a team that would go on to raise the Cup.
In 2024, on May 31st, they lost Game 5 on home ice to the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1. That time, they dug a 3-0 hole before finally at least scoring a goal, but that was the last time they would play at home. Two days later, on June 2, they would lose in Edmonton in Game 6 and the Oilers would go on to lose in their own Game 7 in the Cup Final.
Now in 2025, again on May 29th, the Stars had roughly the worst start they could imagine in surrendering the first three goals in quick succession over the first eight minutes and quickly buried themselves in their own mistakes from which there was no escaping.
Three straight years, the Stars fizzle out at the same point in the road and each time it was not even close.
So, yes, it should be noted that it is so hard to make the Conference Finals and there are two-dozen teams in the NHL that are very jealous of having these “Late May/Early June” problems. But it should also be recognized at great volumes that in their effort to get closer to a Stanley Cup, they simply are not getting closer at all. They are still finishing a very distant second to the eventual Western Conference champions.
They have made changes and they have fought for home ice. They have tried nearly every approach you can consider over this span of time, including a smart level of stability and patience.
But, to argue that there are lesser goals that are satisfying is just silly. This franchise has properly and loudly identified its sole task as bringing a Stanley Cup back to Dallas and has boldly charged forward in trying to maximize every effort to do so. And yet, in an effort to win 16 games in one playoff campaign, they have won, in order: Ten, ten, and now nine playoff games in each of the last three springs. We won’t loudly argue that they are going backwards, but stalling out by getting pounded pretty thoroughly in Round 3 each season is definitely not going to be defined as a success or progress in any reasonable evaluation.
They had a very lofty goal and chased it valiantly. But, today, we wake up seeing that they fell well short. They provided many beautiful nights and sent many enemies packing, for sure, “but in the end, it doesn’t even matter.”
They will not raise the Cup, yet again. The mission is still not accomplished.
These are final My Three Thoughts of the Dallas Stars in 2025: