After a blowout loss to open the playoffs, the Dallas Stars have chosen calm over crisis.
Another poor showing could change things in a hurry.
Dallas will look to even its best-of-seven series against visiting Minnesota at one victory apiece when the teams face off Monday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. The Wild grabbed a 1-0 series lead after cruising to a 6-1 win on Saturday.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan rewatched the game before practice Sunday. He said the team’s breakdowns had more to do with execution than effort level.
“We have looked a little bit offensively at how we can create a little bit more, but we just didn’t execute in a lot of areas, starting right from breakouts to through the neutral zone,” Gulutzan said. “And when we did get out clean, we didn’t make the next play. …
“We weren’t connected. We didn’t stack any good plays upon good plays on each other at all. That was the thing. We had some opportunity at times to do that, and we never executed. Every part of our game needs to be a little bit better on Monday.”
Gulutzan quickly squashed any notion that he would make a goaltending change in Game 2. Starter Jake Oettinger allowed five goals on 28 shots in the series opener, but Gulutzan expressed full confidence in him and said there was no point in overreacting.
Again, Gulutzan said the film showed no reason to panic.
“I didn’t see anything there (suggesting to replace Oettinger),” Gulutzan said. “I saw more of a team play thing that we can all be a little bit better from every guy. There are some nights any team in the league can look at their goalie and go, ‘Oh man, that was a goalie (loss).’ But (Game 1) wasn’t one of them. …
“We don’t want to mix and match too much. We lost Game 1, we’ve got to bounce back. Like I keep saying, there weren’t any guys at the top of their game (Saturday). I fully expect this group to be better (Monday).”
Meanwhile, Minnesota knows it has a chance to seize a 2-0 lead on the road. Everything worked well for the Wild in Game 1, including a stellar performance from goaltender Jesper Wallstedt in his playoff debut.
Wallstedt said he enjoyed playing in the spotlight. Look for him to get the call again in Game 2 ahead of veteran teammate Filip Gustavsson, who started the majority of the team’s games in the regular season.
“This is the same game I’ve played since I was 6,” Wallstedt said. “There’s nothing different to it.”
It also helps a goaltender when his offense scores a half-dozen goals to support him.
Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek will aim to stay hot in Game 2 after scoring two goals apiece in the series opener. Kirill Kaprizov added a goal and two assists, and Mats Zuccarello picked up three assists.
But Zuccarello offered a similar perspective as his opponents’ coach entering Monday.
Keep calm. Do not overreact to a single game.
“Every game lives its own life,” Zuccarello said. “It’s always nice to get a win, start off positive, but just stay even-keel and try to focus on the next one.”
–Field Level Media
