The Dallas Stars insist they are playing well enough to win their Western Conference finals series against the Edmonton Oilers.
However, as the Stars prepare for Tuesday’s key Game 4 contest in Edmonton, they trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series and are in desperate need for their game-breakers to make a difference.
Dallas deserved a better fate in Sunday’s 6-1 loss, but that does not change the fact that too many key players didn’t contribute.
Jason Robertson scored, but that was just his first goal of the playoffs while he battles back from injury.
Mikko Rantanen has gone six games without a goal, as has Wyatt Johnston.
Meanwhile, Matt Duchene has one tally in the playoffs, Tyler Seguin has scored in one of the last 13 games and captain Jamie Benn is on a 13-game swoon.
To top it off, goaltender Jake Oettinger has been outdueled by his Edmonton counterpart Stuart Skinner while Dallas has been outscored 9-1 in the past two games.
“It’s frustrating, and it’s sometimes hard to not let the frustration come, but we’ve got to do our best to not let it come to our minds,” Rantanen said. “We’ve just got to stick with it.”
Whether the potential return of Roope Hintz, who missed last game due to injury and is listed as day-to-day, makes a difference remains to be seen. Hintz is hopeful to play.
But the Stars are well aware they must turn the tide or be knocked out by the Oilers in the conference finals for the second consecutive year.
“We still have an opportunity to try and get one on the road,” Robertson said. “I don’t think it’s any frustration with what we have to do. There are a lot of veterans in this room and they’re going to be up to the challenge.”
The Oilers, meanwhile, are rolling, having won 10 of their last 12 games as they look to take a stranglehold on the series.
As much as Skinner was the difference-maker in Sunday’s loss by making 33 saves, including 20 in the second period, the Oilers are finding a way to win in a variety of ways.
The Game 3 clash was a textbook example of what Edmonton can do with minimal scoring chances. Perhaps no better example was Connor McDavid’s clutch goal in the final seconds of the second period. While the Stars were pressing for the equalizer, McDavid received one opportunity off a turnover and buried his second goal of the game.
It also marked a breakout for the superstar who had scored only three goals in the playoffs prior to Sunday.
“I think people forget he’s a 60-goal scorer,” Zach Hyman said. “I mean, he’s probably an underrated goal-scorer. He makes the right play, whether it’s a pass or a goal, right? … And when he has an opportunity to shoot it, and he shoots it, there’s a good chance it goes in.”
Unlike years past, though, the Oilers are more than just the McDavid and Leon Draisaitl show. Eighteen skaters have scored at least one goal, and seven have at least five.
Hyman tallied twice in a three-point game, defenseman Evan Bouchard leads all defensemen with six goals and 17 points, and the leading point producer in the series is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has notched a pair of goals and five assists in the three outings.
“For his whole career, he’s been able to be a two-way player. He’s just that type of guy,” Skinner said of Nugent-Hopkins. “That’s why he’s such a huge part of our team and a huge part of the organization.”
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who hasn’t played in the postseason due to an injury, may return, and forward Connor Brown, who exited the last game after receiving a hard and high hit from Alex Petrovic, is out.
–Field Level Media
