The Dallas Stars are for real. DFW sports fans, it’s time to get on the bandwagon | Opinion

At the risk of sounding like a bad car salesman, let me ask you:

What will it take to get you into these hockey playoffs and the Dallas Stars today?

It’s time to get on the bandwagon, folks. The Stars, who advanced to the NHL’s Western Conference finals Monday night with a gritty 2-1 win over Seattle, have a real shot to win the area’s first major-sports championship in more than a decade. (Apologies to Arlington’s XFL team, though their win was cool and all.)

Hockey is firmly in fourth place among the sports leagues and teams around here — perhaps even fifth, if TCU football continues its strong run. It’s a hard sport for some people to get into. But this Stars team plays an exciting style and has what any novice needs to get invested: guys you can root for.

First and foremost is forward Joe Pavelski. At 38, he’s one of the oldest players in the league and one of the most-accomplished American-born players ever. He’s been a superstar, and his leadership in an international tournament earned him a classic nickname: Captain America. But he has never won the sport’s coveted championship trophy, the Stanley Cup.

Pavelski took a wicked head injury early in the Stars’ opening series against Minnesota and sat out several games. When he came back at the start of the Seattle series, all he did was score four goals in his first game back, a rare feat for any hockey player.

Or if you like, pick any number of young Stars who form one of the most promising cores for any NHL team. Goalie Jake Oettinger put the league on notice last season with a dominating performance in a narrow playoff loss. This year, he’s a little uneven, but watching a strong goalie in the playoffs is a joy of the sport.

If you’d rather focus on offense, take Roope Hintz or Jason Robertson. The two skate fast, move the puck well and score — a lot. Hintz has scored nine goals this postseason. Robertson is one of the top players in the league and set a team record for points (that’s goals and assists combined) in the regular season. He’s cooled off in the playoffs, but he’s still one of the most electric players around.

And of course, there’s still the names you might know, Jamie Benn is the longtime team captain who has ridden the team’s ups and down for more than a decade. Tyler Seguin was a young phenom who scored goals in bunches until injuries took their toll, but he’s still a fast, smart player whose shots can take your breath away.

The Stars will play the Vegas Golden Knights starting Friday, and it promises to be a tough series. The Knights were the top team in the conference in the regular season, and they’ve got a fistful of stars of their own.

But they’re also pretty easy to hate: They came into the league just a few years ago as an expansion team and met with immediate success, which is an insult to fans that had to suffer with any team’s down years before getting to enjoy victory. Also, the Knights have terrible uniforms and a completely made-up, second-choice nickname. They can’t even be bothered to bear the entire name of their city. They must be stopped.

Some people find it hard to get into hockey, especially if they didn’t grow up with it. It’s understandable; it’s a long regular season, a lot of hard-to-pronounce European names and rules that are anything but obvious.

The NHL did the Stars no favors with late starting times in its first two series, but with just four teams left, the puck will drop early enough that even the kids can watch the first period or so.

Just take in the speed and skill. Enjoy the vicious, intense hits as a playoff rivalry builds over a series. Don’t sweat the complicated rules — I watch a lot of hockey, and I still don’t think I could adequately explain the offsides rule or the “long change.”

Just wear green and learn the Pantera chant played when the Stars score, and you’ll be fine.