“16 teams, one dream,” that’s the slogan of the American Hockey League Calder Cup playoffs.
It’s one of hockey’s most prestigious trophies, and Texas Stars centre Justin Dowling is taking full advantage of playoff time, in only his second trip to the post-season in his young professional hockey career.
The Stars picked up a first-round playoff matchup against Oklahoma City (OKC). Dowling said it was a hard-fought battle to the end.
“I give it to OKC, they’re a talented team, they battled hard, but we dug in deep and managed to come away with wins in close games,” he said.
The Stars won the best-of-five series in three straight, 3-2 in overtime in the first two games on the road and finished with a 4-2 win at home. Dowling, a native of Cochrane, led the Stars with five points (one goal, four assists) in three games and has already proven he can take his game to the next level in the regular season with a career-high points total (47) and Plus/Minus rating (+21).
But it’s been his ability to get the puck to the net that’s helped him lead his team in points in the 2014 playoffs, with a team-high 13 shots in the Stars’ first playoff series.
“It’s a little bit of everyone stepping up, making each other better. If my linemates are playing better, it has a ripple effect,” said Dowling, who scored a goal in the third game against OKC.
Now the Stars look towards the future and their next opponent, the Grand Rapids Griffins, farm team of the Detroit Red Wings.
“It was nice to get a sweep, get a little extra rest and prepare for the next series,” Dowling said.
With the first series only being a best-of-five, the extra time off will serve the Stars well as they head into what is now a best-of-seven against the Griffins, starting tonight (May 8) at home.
“It’ll be nice to start at home, we’d like to put them in a 2-0 hole heading back to Grand Rapids, but we’ll see what happens. We need to be on the right page, stick to the game plan and anything is possible,” Dowling said.
If you want to catch any of the Texas games, visit www.theahl.com to purchase live games and stream them to your computer.
