"There was a time when Stars fans were able to argue throughout the off-season that they were the best team in the NHL.Those days are over.Instead, the Stars are among the teams that are "rebuilding," "retooling" or just not that good. It happens to everyone. It's the circle of life in sports. Sometimes you're the hunted, and sometimes you're the hunter.Fact is, Stars fans have probably been spoiled for far too many years with one of the NHL's better teams.But while it would be easy to simply accept that Dallas isn't nearly as good as Chicago, Detroit, Vancouver or San Jose and has no business dreaming about winning the Stanley Cup, the Stars aren't going to do that. They are going to focus on winning one game at a time and hope that they can be one of the eight Western Conference teams that make the playoffs.And that is a goal that seems pretty realistic.If you look at the West, the Blackhawks, Red Wings, Canucks and Sharks are pretty much locks to make the playoffs, and Los Angeles is in that mix. But if you look at the remaining nine teams in the West, it's difficult to see a team that has a pronounced advantage over the Stars.Could a team have a better situation on offense? Sure. Defense? Sure. In goal? Yep.But all three?Maybe not.If you look at the 10 teams that could be battling for the final three playoff spots, each one has flaws. Are you convinced Phoenix will go 14-6 in the shootout again and post the fourth-best record with the 24th-most goals?" http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/10/06/2526641/playoffs-a-legitimate-stars-goal.html
