Texas Stars Will Play San Diego in First Round, Home Ice TBD

Brandon Montour (Credit: Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars)

It's still up in the air where and when the series will start, but with a week to go in the season, the Texas Stars already know their first round playoff opponent. With Texas and San Diego both locked into either the second or third seed, the Stars and Gulls will be meeting in the first round of the AHL playoffs.

Remember that the first round is a five-game series and teams separated by more than 300 miles play a 2-3 starting at the lower seed. Currently, the series would start in Texas. However, if the Stars win both games this week against weak competition (San Antonio and Manitoba) and San Diego loses twice to Ontario this week, the advantage will swap.

Either way, the Stars will face the Ducks' farm team in the first round. Texas has a 5-1 season series advantage over the Gulls, but San Diego has been very hot recently. Since losing to Texas on February 17th, the Gulls have lost just two games in regulation, going 15-2-3-1.

For what it's worth, both teams have their NHL club in the playoffs, which means there will be no surprise send downs for either side.