For about 30 minutes Wednesday, the Stars saw a glimpse of their potential.
Now they have to try to get it back on a consistent basis for the better part of the next month or so.
During a stretch in January and February, the Stars ran through teams with a precision that had onlookers saying they might well be a contender for the Stanley Cup. They beat the Bruins, the Wild, the Blackhawks, the Penguins. They rode Tyler Seguin, Alexander Radulov, Jamie Benn and John Klingberg to one of the top 10 offenses in the NHL. They rode Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen to one of the top five goals-against averages.