NHL Power Rankings: Eastern Conference Still Crowds Top 10

No. 16: Dallas Stars
Previous: 18th
Season record: 9-9-6 (24 points)
After losing 4-3 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues in Monday night’s Central Division showdown and then falling Tuesday to Detroit, the Dallas Stars fell from the second wild card slot in the Western Conference. With top-six forwards Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza now back from lengthy injuries, the Stars are beginning to look like themselves, except for the glaring minus-18 goal differential.
The Stars will score lots of goals, but with veteran Johnny Oduya on injured reserve, the back end is vulnerable with a young, relatively inexperienced blue line and two underperforming goaltenders in Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. Unless they can significantly improve their collective 3.17 goals-allowed average, the Stars will continue to teeter on the brink of the playoff picture.