The Dallas Stars had no answers for the Edmonton Oilers beyond one period in the Western Conference Final series. Buoyed by a five-goal explosion in the third period of the series opener, the Stars appeared poised to get better as the series went along. Instead, the opposite happened.
The Oilers won each of the next four games. The Stars looked like an overmatched team and an increasingly frustrated one as well. This says it all: From Game Two to Game Five, the Oilers outscored Pete DeBoer’s team by a combined 19-5 score. Dallas never held a lead at any point in the final four matches.
The series came to an almost merciful end on Thursday. The Oilers built a 3-0 lead by the time the game was 8:07 into the first period. Edmonton went on to win by a 6-3 margin. For the first time since 2008 and 2009, the Stanley Cup Final will be a rematch. The back-to-back Western Conference champion Oilers will take on the three-time Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers.
Robertson and Harley were Dallas bright spots
The biggest bright spot for the Stars in the otherwise disappointing series: Jason Robertson is fully healthy. The Stars forward scored at least one goal in each of the final three tilts including a pair of tallies on Thursday. Roope Hintz sandwiched a power play goal in between the two Robertson markers. Thomas Harley earned his ninth and 10th assists of the playoffs.
It wasn’t nearly enough. Dallas never drew closer than 4-3 before the Oilers pulled away one final time. Corey Perry (PPG, 7th), Mattias Janmark (3rd), Jeff Skinner (1st), Connor McDavid (6th), Evander Kane (5th) and Kasperi Kapanen (ENG, 3rd) scored for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner faced a mere 17 shots for the game, stopping 13. Kris Knoblauch’s team did a masterful job of minimizing their on-paper disadvantage in net. The solution: the Edmonton five-man units rarely allowed Dallas attackers anywhere near the scoring areas.
Rough series for Oettinger and company
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger had a very tough series. As is usually the case in a lopsided series, what happened to the Stars was a combination of things: The potent Oilers attack generated good looks at the net both at even strength and on the power play. Secondly, the Stars team defense struggled to contain Edmonton to the perimeter and consistently give their goalies clean looks at the puck. Finally, Oettinger himself bears a fair share of the burden. The Stars needed more saves at key times.
Match by match, Dallas found itself chasing the game. Before too long, comeback hockey becomes losing hockey. The Stars got away with it in Game One. Thereafter, it never happened again.
In Game Five, Oettinger lasted just 7:09. The Oilers scored on their first two shots of the game. That was it for Oettinger and his team. The Oilers had a stranglehold on the game and the series. They weren’t about to let go.
What’s next for the Dallat Stars?
Dallas has lost to the Oilers in back-to-back Western Conference Final series. This year’s edition was less competitive than a year ago. Yes, the Stars went through two very grueling series against the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets. Even so, Dallas was a bit inconsistent from game-to-game; for example, the Stars were shut out multiple teams in this postseason.
For too much of the playoffs, it was Mikko Rantanen (or his linemates) and Harley who had to generate most of the offense for Dallas. Matt Duchene never got going to the level Dallas needed. Fellow veterans such as Tyler Seguin had some good games earlier in the playoffs, while longtime captain Jamie Benn had a lot of frustration.
Getting Robertson back by the third round was a big help to the Stars. Unfortunately, the Oilers largely neutralized Rantanen and Roope Hintz (playing banged up). In the end, Dallas got outgunned.
Heading into the Offseason, general manager Jim Nill and head coach DeBoer — two of the best in the business — must deconstruct the factors that played into losing to the Oilers in back-to-back years. The team made a huge addition in Rantanen and beat the President’s Trophy winning Jets in the playoffs after outlasting a very good Colorado Avalanche club.
The Stars remain a contender in the West, but they are a step below the Oilers right now. The hardest part of winning a Cup can sometimes be in finding the final couple pieces of the puzzle. The window is still open but for how much longer?
