Stars Looking To Clinch Playoff Berth Tonight vs Flyers

Mar 28, 2019; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Dallas Stars celebrate a second period goal by forward Alexander Radulov (47) against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
Photo credit Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan/AP) - The Dallas Stars enter tonight's contest against the Philadelphia Flyers at the American Airlines Center with a chance to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. 

The Stars, who hold the first wild-card spot in the West, need just one point in their final three games to punch their ticket to the postseason. Dallas can also get into the playoffs if the Arizona Coyotes lose any of their final three games, starting tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. 

So what's the mood like amongst the players as they can clinch in front of their home crowd tonight? 

"I think it's a lot of excitement, to be honest, at this point. It's a lot of fun to be playing meaningful hockey, and we have been for a while now. To know that the next point we get can punch our ticket into the postseason is pretty exciting," defenseman Taylor Fedun said, via the Dallas Stars. 

"With success, you become mentally tougher. You start believing."The team didn't panic after the 1-3-1 homestand because while the results weren't there, the team was playing the right way. pic.twitter.com/8IQnLbIwgd

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 1, 2019

Head coach Jim Montgomery says the team wasn't concerned after their most recent homestand where they went 1-3-1. The Stars responded with a stellar four-game road trip that saw them pick up 7 out of a possible 8 points to put them on the doorstep of the postseason.

"With success, you become mentally tougher. When people believe in a process, believe in how you go about winning within a game, that's where confidence comes from. And it's been a lot of different ways we've won," Montgomery said. 

"The metal of being able to come back from 3-4 and 4-6, and you look at our record in the month of March with all the games we've had. ... We weren't panicked.

"I know all of you were panicked when we went 1-3-1 at home, but we liked the way we were playing. So we don't get immersed in results. ... And I think that's why you never saw us panic on the road because we just kept playing the way we were at home, but we got out ahead in the first two games. ... And the other games we were able to come back ... we scored on our opportunities. We had many more opportunities at home to score than we did on the road."

NOTES:

The Stars have gone 22-14-3 in home games. Dallas has scored 41 power-play goals, converting on 20.1 percent of chances.

The Flyers have gone 18-17-4 away from home. Philadelphia has scored 38 power-play goals, converting on 17 percent of chances. In their last meeting on Jan. 10, Philadelphia won 2-1.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Seguin leads the Stars with 75 total points, scoring 31 goals and collecting 44 assists. Alexander Radulov has six goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Dallas.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flyers: 3-7-0, averaging 2.3 goals, 4.2 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .913 save percentage.

Stars: 5-3-2, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.5 assists, 2.2 penalties and 4.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .937 save percentage.

Stars Injuries: Justin Dowling: day to day (upper body), Mats Zuccarello: out (broken arm), Ben Bishop: day to day (lower body).

Flyers Injuries: None listed.