Well, the Dallas Stars exited the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs sooner than anyone wanted. It's going to be a long summer for all of us. What now?

In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark examined the takeaways from the Stars' all-too-short run. And along with the obvious issues (injuries, penalties, name it), they found some surprisingly positive evidence for the future (and you may or may not be surprised at how much of it probably ties into the promotion of Neil Graham).

So are you rooting for the asteroid, or the giant truck? We're Stargazing, and we're keeping our options open.

Bonus question: What will you look for in the next NHL Draft? Let's talk about it at Defending Big D. And please give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Dallas Stars are coming home to a best-of-three series after another overtime in Minnesota – this one ending in a loss. What's next?

In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark discuss everything from the Nils Lundkvist's injury to Thomas Harley's impact, and from the performance of the top line to Michael Bunting's possible fit into the lineup.

Who needs to go off if the Stars want to close the deal? We're Stargazing, and we have our ideas.

What did you see in Game 4? Let us know at Defending Big D. And please don’t forget to rate, review and share wherever you listen.

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The Dallas Stars did what the Dallas Stars do on Wednesday night. And it worked out just fine – this time – as Dallas Stars things are liable to do, especially during series with the Minnesota Wild. (What did that one guy say?... Sixty percent of the time, it works all the time.)

In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark take a dive into the double-overtime victory in St. Paul. They discuss the revival of Dallas' special teams, who's really winning at 5-on-5, where puck luck and regression can make a difference (and for whom), why stupid fouls could still decide the series, predictions for Game 4, and so very, very much more.

If you can win the high-danger areas, you can probably win the series. We're Stargazing, and danger is our business.

What did you see in Game 3? Let us know at Defending Big D. And please don’t forget to rate, review and share wherever you listen. You're the real stars.

By the way, welcome to Stargazing. We love you.

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The Dallas Stars won on Monday night, and all of a sudden the Minnesota Wild look like the team that needs to adjust. The Stars' depth is beginning to come through. Will the Wild respond by shortening their bench to about five guys?

In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark go back to the blanket analogy: Whenever you cover one thing, you risk leaving something else exposed. They discuss how and why an early lead played to Dallas' strengths and Minnesota's weaknesses, what happens when every player succeeds in his role, and what we might see as the series travels to St. Paul.

It's still a long series, so the long game matters. We're Stargazing, and we're deliberately making these casts shorter, just so we can make more.

What's your take on Game 2? Let us know at Defending Big D. And please don’t forget to rate, review and share wherever you listen. It's the daily affirmation that we love most of all.

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There is nothing wrong with the Dallas Stars. Their systems work, and so does their lineup. And this Minnesota Wild team is still exactly what we thought it was. So how do we square these things with the...effort we saw in Game 1?

To make sense of Saturday's loss, we needed to bring in the big guns. So Wes and Mark tackled the topic with NHL.com's Taylor Baird – whom you also know as DBD's editor-in-chief. They went over the lines that worked (and didn't), the injuries that still dog the team, and what the Stars will do to rally after getting punched in the face.

The Stars have a history of losing the first game in a Stanley Cup Playoffs round, then going on to win the series. We're Stargazing, and we're taking the long view for as long as we can.

What's your take on Game 1? Let us know at Defending Big D. And please don’t forget to rate, review and share wherever you listen. It's the daily affirmation that we love most of all.

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And here we are again. The Dallas Stars will face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs — which probably says more about the NHL's desperate need to revise their postseason format than anything, but that's a question for another time, and at any rate it's beyond the scope of this recording.

Rather, Wes and Mark would like to talk about how the Stars will approach the challenge at hand. In this episode of Stargazing, they discuss which players have the most to prove, how matchups will shape up given the crucial home-ice advantage, who stands to make the most of the playoffs, and so much more.

The two best players entering this series...? Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson have entered the chat. We're Stargazing, and the stats will back us up on this. (We've got more, if you want it.)

Which Stars will shine in Round 1? Let's talk about it at Defending Big D. And please give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts. It's really all we think about these days.

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With around 300 man-games lost to injury this season, the 2025-26 Dallas Stars have been fortunate to get quality reinforcement from their AHL squad. Which, predictably, left their AHL squad struggling as players fought to adapt to the depletion of their own team.

So it's especially satisfying that the Texas Stars have not just survived, but thrived as they prepare for a postseason run of their own.

It's always the right time to catch up with Cedar Park, and Wes and Mark called in a top player for the task. Stephen Meserve, founder of the go-to T-Stars news site 100 Degree Hockey and co-author of We Win Here: The Definitive Essays You Need About The Texas Stars, joined the cast for a long and substantial discussion. They discuss how the organization prepares players to succeed in the big league, how college free agents have bolstered a team with a sparse draft-pick cupboard, how goaltending kept the T-Stars going during the turbulent first months of the 2025-26 season, and so much more.

Are Justin and Dylan Hryckowian the Stars' next great brother act? We're Stargazing, and we're asking you to put your money up.

Let's talk more at Defending Big D. And please give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts. It's all we think about these days.

And if you want to know more about Stephen's recent work on the AHL's evolving usage of Professional Tryout contracts, hop over to 100 Degree Hockey for a good read (and some really interesting interactive charts).

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First of all, no: The Dallas Stars don't need to sit Jake Oettinger, and fans need to let go of that talking point. And no: It's not just because he tallied two shutouts in about a week.

In this episode of Stargazing, Wes and Mark talk about why the Stars have placed so much of their trust in Otter — and it has almost nothing to do with his future Vezina Trophy prospects. They also discuss what the Lian Bichsel-Tyler Myers pair can bring to a Stanley Cup Playoffs series, how to evaluate goalie performance as part of team defense, and which forwards should play on which lines during the postseason. They also expand their Expected Rawr (xRawr) chart to include even more current and historical Stars players.

Sometimes the solution that works is not the solution you had in mind. We’re Stargazing, and we're a tree. We can bend.

Which Stars are in which xRawr quadrant? So far, Wes and Mark have calculated rankings for the following players, current and historic:

• • Sam Steel
  • Jason Spezza
  • Alex Radulov
  • Miro Heiskanen
  • Esa Lindell
  • Marty Turco

Let's talk more at Defending Big D. And please give us a rate, review, or share wherever you get your podcasts. It really makes our day.

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