The title says it all.
No more comparisons to last year’s Western Conference Final. No more ad nauseam about LTIR loophole abuse. No more agonizing over the Stars’ best team in arguably 25 years potentially getting sent home in Round 1. Those narratives have all ceased.
Oh, some will continue into the second round, of course. Who’s hot (Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger) and who’s not (Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski). Pete DeBoer’s inability to (right or wrong) trust Nils Lundkvist and instead roll five defensemen. How Dallas, after drawing the defending Stanley Cup Champions in Round 1 gets a single day off after their Game 7 before taking on a Colorado Avalanche team that hasn’t played a game of hockey since April.