THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: In Year 2, Kraken made believers across the NHL

The Dallas Stars were gearing up for the Western Conference semifinals.

Coach Pete DeBoer met the media and immediately heard a question that made him tighten his jaw muscles.

“Do you feel like you caught a bit of a break,” DeBoer was asked, “with Seattle upsetting the Avalanche?

“That’s the Stanley Cup champion gone after one round, so it helps to know you won’t have to face them, doesn’t it?”

DeBoer was having none of it.

“Have you seen Seattle play?” he said. “They roll four lines out there, non-stop, and they come after you in waves.

“They have two 20-goal scorers on the fourth line.

“Does that sound like a team that will be fun to play?”

DeBoer wasn’t spoofing, as coaches occasionally do when a matchup makes them obvious favorites.

“The Kraken had 100 points in the regular season,” he said. “That’s not a number that you associate with some team that was lucky to get into the playoffs.

“They earned their way to a shot at the Cup, and they earned that first-round win over Colorado.”

AT THE end on Monday night, after Dallas had hung on to defeat the Kraken 2-1 in a tense Game 7, DeBoer had not changed his mind.

Not even a little bit.

“(The Kraken) were relentless right up until the buzzer tonight. Hats off to them,” DeBoer said.

“Really impressive season and effort from that group. They made us earn it.”

DeBoer wasn’t kidding about competing right to the buzzer.

Dallas seemed to be cruising to the win, until Oliver Bjorkstrand stuffed home a goal with 17.6 seconds remaining to draw Seattle within one.

Unfortunately, there was no second miracle goal coming, and the Kraken suddenly were faced with the end of their dream.

No one had any reason to hang his head, though.

Seattle’s relentless, physical style had flustered the Stars, just as it had done to the Avs – but the effort drained the Kraken’s tank by Game 7.

“We just couldn’t find our next gear,” said coach Dave Hakstol.

However, Hakstol’s bunch made believers across the entire NHL – even though it probably didn’t start that way.

“From Day One, everyone’s kind of written us off,” said winger Jordan Eberle, who led the Kraken with five playoff goals.

“They didn’t expect us to make the playoffs, didn’t expect us to beat Colorado.

“And I’m sure no one expected us to get to seven (games) here.”

NHL analyst Alan May, though, became an early convert.

“I hadn’t seen much of Seattle,” he said, “but when you get a chance to watch them up close, their success is no surprise.

“That team can skate. I mean, they can really skate — four solid lines and even the D-men.

“They forecheck like crazy, pin teams in their own zones and force mistakes. They keep going at it like that until they get a turnover and …

“Boom!

“it’s in the net.

“Trust me, they can play with anybody.”

THE ONE difficulty that the Kraken faced — and it was really evident during the Game 7 in Dallas — is that their all-out, gung-ho style requires almost superhuman effort against teams with megastars on the roster.

On Monday night, they struggled to find any more fuel.

Seattle required goalie Philipp Grubauer to keep things within reach — along with his teammates throwing themselves in front of Dallas shots.

The Kraken blocked six shots on one Stars power play, an incredible two minutes in which Seattle never got the puck out of its own zone.

It’s fair to say that the Kraken left this year’s Cup playoffs on their own terms — leaving every ounce of energy on the ice at American Airlines Arena.

Even though the Cup run ended, the Kraken’s effort created a wild hockey enthusiasm back in the Northwest.

“I love this group,” center Yanni Gourde said. “I think there’s something here.”

Oh, there’s definitely “something” …

“It won’t register tonight, but this group changed the landscape of hockey in Seattle,” Hakstol said after the Monday night loss.

“This group changed the culture, and the trajectory and the belief of our franchise.”

No kidding.

You’re going to see a lot of Kraken gear on the street over the next few months.

And then madness when next season starts in October.

Let’s get on this ride again.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”