{"id":472424,"date":"2025-07-15T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=472424"},"modified":"2025-07-14T13:11:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:11:07","slug":"summer-series-dallas-stars-defining-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/07\/15\/summer-series-dallas-stars-defining-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Series: Dallas Stars Defining Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise and an entire league. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word on Hockey’s Summer Series looks at these defining moments. Today, we feature the biggest defining moment of the Dallas Stars.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The Stars joined the NHL as part of the <\/span>league’s 1967 expansion class<\/span><\/a>. After playing in Minnesota, the Stars relocated to Dallas, with their first season in Dallas being the 1993-94 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since moving to Texas, the Stars have been a successful franchise. The Stars have won nine division titles in Dallas, two\u00a0Presidents’ Trophies as the top regular-season team in the league, and the\u00a0Stanley Cup\u00a0in\u00a01999. In addition to the 1999 championship team, the Stars have reached the Stanley Cup Final on two other occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dallas Stars Defining Moment<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Controversial Crease<\/span><\/h3>\n

As soon as the Stars moved to Dallas, the organization began building a team that could contend for the Stanley Cup. Before the 1998-99 season, the Stars made a big splash in free agency, signing star forward (no pun intended) Brett Hull<\/a> to a three-year contract. Behind Hull and returning players like Mike Modano<\/a> and Ed Belfour<\/a>, the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final, where they would face the <\/span>Buffalo Sabres<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Run-Up<\/span><\/h4>\n

The series started in Dallas, but the Sabres stole home-advantage with an overtime victory in Game 1. The Stars won the next two games, regaining the home-ice advantage in the process. However, the Sabres would not be deterred, winning Game 4 to turn the series into a best-of-three. Back at home, Belfour stopped all 23 Buffalo shots to pick up the shutout and put the Stars a win away from the Stanley Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Game 6 would go down in history for multiple reasons. For starters, it is the second-longest Stanley Cup Final game in NHL history. Furthermore, it is the longest Cup-clinching game in NHL history. How we got the Cup-winning goal, however, is what stands out in history, bringing joy to Dallas and <\/span>pain to Buffalo<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Foot in the Crease<\/span><\/h4>\n

In triple overtime, Jere Lehtinen<\/a>‘s shot was stopped by Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek<\/a>. Hull, who was not in the crease at the time of Lehtinen’s shot, grabbed the rebound, using his skate to slide the puck to his stick. At this time, Hull was just outside the crease. His skate did enter the crease right before he knocked in the rebound for the Cup-winning goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sabres protested the goal, believing Hull’s skate in the crease was a violation of the rules at the time. However, the goal stood. The Stars were Stanley Cup Champions.<\/span><\/p>\n