Thursday’s (May 23) Game 1 Western Conference Final matchup between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers was a treat to watch. It went to two overtimes and finished when Oilers forward Connor McDavid scored on a tip-in shot to secure the victory for the Oilers. Unfortunately, for the Stars, it was not the result they were looking for with a home-ice advantage in this series.
They must improve their game before Game 2 on Saturday (May 25). Let’s examine those fundamental changes they need to make.
Costly Goals on Little Giveaways
In the first period of the game, the shot totals seemed to have gone in the Stars’ direction, as they were leading, 7-3. However, during the second period, everything fell apart for the Stars in shots, and the totals went in the Oilers’ favor. By the end of the third period, the Oilers were up 29-24 in shots and used the Stars’ giveaways to advantage.
Specifically, with the Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman goals in the second period, the Stars let the Oilers play the puck around in their zone too much and gave up the puck a lot when trying to clear.
Related: 4 Takeaways From Oilers’ Double OT Win in Game 1 Against Stars
Despite giving up the puck nine times throughout the game, the Stars could not protect it well enough. They were solid on defense when it came to blocking shots and removing the puck from high-danger areas, but all the goals the Stars allowed were from high-danger areas.
The Oilers have a lot of offense; however, the Stars’ three deep lines could’ve been more productive in this game, especially at taking advantage of the Oilers’ 15 giveaways. If so it would’ve been a much better game and the Stars would’ve been in a good spot to win Game 1.
Lots of Power Plays and No Goals
The Stars had five power plays but not scoring a single goal with their talented lineup is concerning. If they had scored on at least three of those power plays, this game would’ve ended more in their favor, but a lot of credit has to go to Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, who came out strong in this game and held down the fort for his team.
In fact, Skinner has a record of 3-0-0, a .926 save percentage (SV%), and a 1.50 goals against average (GAA) in his last three games. In the next match, one thing to highlight for the Stars is throwing everything at Skinner. The Oilers have always lacked defense, and the score says it all, as it went deep into overtime with a narrow result. Jake Oettinger played very well for the Stars in between the pipes and shouldn’t be to blame for this game, as he battled through poor defensive situations that left him vulnerable.
Stars forward Tyler Seguin should also get some credit here. He played amazingly, showing up offensively for the Stars and pushing it into double overtime. The last time he had a multi-game performance in the Conference Finals was in 2011 when he played with the Boston Bruins; he scored in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final that year against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Stars superstar Jason Robertson and captain Jaime Benn showed up with some great playmaking, which will be needed in the next game; however, players like Miro Heiskanen, Logan Stankoven, and Wyatt Johnston need to show up like they did in the last two series, especially on the power play. Heiskanen and Johnston finished with two shots, and Stankoven had one.
What to Expect in Game 2
On Saturday (May 25), the Stars will have home-ice advantage in Game 2, the second game of the series; ultimately, using the home crowd’s energy, especially with the glass-banging guy on their side, should be helpful. One player that I would like to see come out with more firepower is Hesikanen, as he can still be a record-breaking performer for this Stars roster offensively.
Another thing the Stars need to do is tighten up in those high-danger areas so they are less prone to give up loose pucks in their zone that could cause costly goals. With that said, the ability to counter with their outstanding offense and seeing players like Robertson, Stankoven, and Johnston push a little more with some excellent scoring.
