[Critch]

Playoffs Round 1 - Dallas Stars
Dallas won the Central Division this year with 103 points, they won the Stanley Cup last year, their second championship in the last three years. They have the second best record in the Western Conference after Vancouver and they'd be pretty strong favorites to deal with Anchorage. So we're going in more in hope than expectation.

We played them three times in the regular season, a 2-1 shootout win in Dallas at the end of December and a 4-3 win in Dallas in January and a 4-1 defeat in Anchorage in February.

Star players are their goalie Jake Oettinger (4.5), LW Jason Robertson (4.5), C Roope Hintz (4.5), D Miro Heiskanen (4.0).

Game 1 - Anchorage Huskies 3 Dallas Stars 5
Dallas went 1-0 up after 10 seconds, not a good start, but our 4th line got us back into it with a Dylan Holloway goal. Dallas scored another couple before the end of the 1st to make it 3-1 at the first intermission. Only one goal in the second period, Olen Zellweger getting the Huskies back within 1 but Roope Hintz scored a powerplay goal early in the third (his second goal, he got one in the 1st period too) to make it 4-2. Jordan Gavin got it back to 4-3 with 10 minutes to go, then no more scoring til Robertson scored an empty net goal in the dying seconds to give Dallas the series lead.

Game 2 - Anchorage Huskies 3 Dallas Stars 2
No scoring in the first. Half way through the second Jordan Gavin gives the Huskies the lead, but it only lasts a couple of minutes before Fluker ties it. We go to the third tied and Dallas go up 2-1 almost straight away. Tomas Lavoie ties it up after 7:59, Dallas get a powerplay almost straight away but Philipp Kurashev scores a short handed game winning goal and it's back to Anchorage with the series tied.

Game 3 - Dallas Stars 3 Anchorage Huskies 4 OT
Dallas race out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, Robertson, Stankoven and Bichsel putting them in a commanding position. Second period is scoreless, so Anchorage go into the third period still trailing 3-0. Defenseman Topi Niemela starts the comeback with an unassisted goal after 4:35, Moritz Seider cuts the lead to only 1 after 10:14, and Jordan Gavin ties it up with 9 seconds left. Overtime doesnt last long, Lucas Karmiris scores after 26 seconds and the 9,500 record crowd go home happy with Anchorage in a 2-1 series lead. Dallas outshot Anchorage 40-27, but after the first period Anchorage goalie Mads Sogaard shut them out. The greatest game in Anchorage's (admittedly short) playoff history.

Game 4 - Dallas Stars 4 Anchorage Huskies 2
Bad news pregame is that Anchorage overtime hero Lucas Karmiris will miss the game with a sore groin, so some shuffling of the Anchorage lines is needed. No scoring in the first period. Dallas go 1 up in the second but Jordan Gavin scores for the 4th game in a row to tie it up. Early in the third Hunter McKenzie puts Anchorage ahead, but they cant hold onto the lead. Stankoven ties it for Dallas with 4 minutes to go, Quinn Olsen puts them ahead a minute later, then scores an empty net goal with a second ago. Back to Dallas with the series tied.

Game 5 - Anchorage Huskies 6 Dallas Stars 3
Still no Lucas Karmiris, he's back in Anchorage tending to his sore groin. Dallas goes 1-0 up, the only goal in the first period. 27 seconds into the second period Vasili Podkolzin gets his first of the series to tie it up. After 8:30 Oskar Voullet gets his first of the series and Anchorage are in the lead. Jason Robinson ties it up a minute later, but Voullet scores again at the end of the second, Anchorage go into the third period 3-2 up. Anchorage blow the game open, three goals in the first three minutes, Podkolzin, Niemela and Thibodeau, and it's 6-2. Dallas pull one back late on, but we're going back to Anchorage only one game from winning the series. Jordan Gavin didnt score in this game, but he got an assist on the first goal.

Game 6 - Dallas Stars 3 Anchorage Huskies 0
Lucas Karmiris isnt 100% but he's back into the lineup. He's risked because another left wing, Prokhor Poltapov is out for the playoffs with a broken toe. First period is scoreless, but Dallas score 3 in the second, 2 from Roope. Third is scoreless and we're back to Dallas for a game seven.

Game 7 - Anchorage Huskies 2 Dallas Stars 5
Lukas Karmiris is back to 100% for the game, so risking him in the last game didn't aggravate his injury.
Dallas go 1-0 up, Urho Mattila ties it up for Anchorage, Dylan Guenther puts Dallas up and it's 2-1 after the first. Another second period collapse for Anchorage, Dallas score 3, Hintz, Stankoven and Bischel, to make it 5-1 after 2 periods. Emil Hemming gets one back for Anchorage in the 3rd, his first goal of the series, but it's all over.

Halfway through the season I checked the free agents and there was a 4.0 goalie sitting there unsigned demanding 9mil a year. I'm not saying it would have made any difference if we'd blown the budget on a 9mil upgrade goalie (Sogaard is only 3.0), but maybe. Anyway, Anaheim eventually signed him anyway.

Next up will be the season 2028/29 wrap up. Maybe next year we can make the playoffs without being a wild card and avoid a top seed in the first round.