DALLAS — The video board just outside the Stars’ dressing room at American Airlines Center displayed the Western Conference standings.

Only the Western Conference standings.

It was as if half the 32-team NHL did not exist.

That, of course, is not the case. But it was a window into how teams perceive interconference matches as compared to intraconference games. Interconference games can be fun and exciting and are still worth two points. But they don’t carry the same impact in the standings or in judging a team as intraconference matches do.

“It’s kind of kind of like you’re going in a little bit blind,” Islanders center Bo Horvat said. “You only see these guys twice a year so it’s a little bit different. You’re not sure exactly what each other is going to do out there or what kind of g

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