DALLAS, TX - APRIL 29: Mats Zuccarello #36 of the Dallas Stars skates against the St. Louis Blues in Game Three of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center on April 29, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

After dropping Game 3 of a Round Two Playoff Series against the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars must embark up a mountain of postseason adversity – the very same one in which they had previously scaled to its peak.

If The Stanley Cup Playoffs doesn’t make you wanna steal that defibrillator from your office, you may need to purchase a coffin – only a dead man could live without it. Geez, these Dallas Stars games are heart-stopping.

After a back-and-forth contest, the visiting St. Louis Blues eked out a regulation win over the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-3. A loss marred by flopping and controversy, Game 3 was a tightly fought contest in which clutch scoring had Dallas on the cusp of their first series lead. However, A Patrick Maroon roofer proved too much, sealing the Stars’ fate with less than 2 minutes left.

Now trailing Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a score of 2-1, the Dallas Stars find themselves tangoing with a familiar threat: even the series at 2 aside or face tremendously long odds of advancing. Treat these hometown fans to a ferocious victory, or equip your adversary with the keys to the proverbial guillotine.

Big D – that sunken feeling you are experiencing is normal. However, no panic buttons need to be pushed yet – the Dallas Stars have been here before. Staring into the soul of Predator tribulation, the Stars overcame a 2-1 series deficit to end Smashville Dreams in 6 games. With a different beast present for Round Two, are they prepared to do it again?

“We always preach getting better in the series and we’ve got to continue to do that. It helped us last series but we’ve got to do the work to get better.” – Stars Head Coach Jim Montgomery

Nobody said this was going to easy. No team can expect to go home every night happy – there are bound to be series ebbs and flows. The 2019 Dallas Stars have seemingly answered every hardship with success, triumphing time-and-time again over the season, but crumbling under a heightened postseason stage will all but ensure the world forgets. It’s under these bright lights that heroes are born, and Dallas will surely need to find a few if they envision settling the playoff score with a date to the Western Conference Finals.

“I don’t know, I guess. I think right now a lot of it is emotions, as well. Don’t get too high; don’t get too low. It’s talked about all the time in playoffs. We’re not going to get too low after this one.”. They are a heck of a hockey team over there. It’s not going to be easy, but they have the advantage now and we have to come out and respond on home ice next game.” – Tyler Seguin on drawing parallels between Game 3 of each series.

Seguin is absolutely right in his assessment of playoff hockey. During these electrifying, best-of-seven brawls, emotions are bound to be constantly flying without much processing in between. One loss, and a team can seemed doomed; win a game and it can bring about a newfound sense of life to the city. There’s too much fluidity in postseason stock, and keeping your head afloat is key.

In watching this 2018-2019 season unfold, it looks as if whenever a challenge arises in Big D, the following game commences with the blood, sweat, and tears of every Star sprawled over the ice. This green-collar club may have been punched in the mouth, but I see no reason to believe Dallas is content with rolling over in Game 4 – this next contest should prove a chaotic, spirited fight.

It’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about making sure you’re standing when all is said and done.

Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1st at 8:30 pm CST. The Dallas Stars look to be on their toes – they have faced these crossroads before.

Want your voice heard? Join the Sports Dallas Fort-Worth team! Write for us!

Let the best city win.

#GoStars