The Dallas Stars are on the verge of a third consecutive elimination in the Western Conference final, and second in a row at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.
Do-or-die time returns as the Stars prepare to play host to the Oilers on Thursday for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series Edmonton leads 3-1.
“We’re not coming in here and getting dominated the whole game, right?” Dallas forward Jason Robertson said. “We’re doing good things, and it’s not going in for us. We still have life.”
History indicates there’s not much life left for the Stars.
Teams with a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series win the series 93 percent of the time (323-23) in NHL postseason history. And odds are even worse for the Stars if their offense continues to flounder.
Dallas has been outscored 13-2 since Game 1, and Robertson scored both goals for the Stars.
Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston have gone seven games without a goal. Matt Duchene has one tally in the team’s 17 playoff games, Tyler Seguin has scored in one (a two-goal effort) of the last 14 games and captain Jamie Benn is in a 14-game drought.
The Stars probably deserved a better fate in each of the last two games, but their woes have been lethal. Case in point, Dallas controlled play in the first period of Tuesday’s loss, but could not open the scoring and went to the dressing room down one goal in what became a 4-1 affair.
“I try to help and haven’t been able to do it as much this series as would be needed to win games,” Rantanen said. “So, I will try to reset … and try to find some keys to get a bounce or two.”
The Oilers, who have opened the scoring in every game this series and tied a franchise record by reaching that feat in seven consecutive outings, are one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year.
The cliche goes that the fourth win is the hardest to claim, but the Oilers have been very good the past few years at sealing the deal. Starting in 2022, Edmonton has a 8-1 record in games when it can clinch a series, with the lone setback their Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final – a series the Oilers trailed 3-0 before sending it the distance.
“They’re experienced,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “They don’t get too high or too low. It’s not that they would ever think that we’ve got this under wraps. That is definitely never the case with this team.”
The players reiterated that attitude, knowing full well how the Stars could chance the series quickly.
“We’ve been in that situation, so get ready for it,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “We know there are certain areas we can clean up and be better at, but overall, we’re playing a pretty good game right now.”
Edmonton, which has won 11 of its last 13 games, does have an extra degree of difficulty with forward Zach Hyman missing the rest of the playoffs. Hyman suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury in the first period of Tuesday’s clash after being hit by Mason Marchment. Knoblauch said Wednesday that Hyman will have season-ending surgery.
“He’s a big part of our team on and off the ice. …,” forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “But other guys have already stepped up and tried to fill that gap.”
Forward Jeff Skinner is likely to return to the lineup for the Oilers, who are also without injured forward Connor Brown. Skinner has been a healthy scratch since struggling in the playoff opener.
–Field Level Media
