The Dallas Stars took home-ice advantage from the Winnipeg Jets with a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the second round at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday night. Mikko Rantanen showed out yet again with three goals, and Jake Oettinger made 29 saves.
Related: Rantanen Nets Hat Trick in Stars’ 3-2 Game 1 Win Over Jets
It was hard to know what to expect from either team heading into Wednesday night. This past weekend saw both teams win two of the most emotional Game 7s we might ever see, making it fair to expect a bit of a letdown in Wednesday’s series opener. If you didn’t watch the game, spoiler alert, that’s not what we got at all. Both teams were engaged from the opening faceoff, and both showed why this could be a long, hard-fought series.
Here are three takeaways from the night that was in Winnipeg. Let’s dive in.
Mikko Rantanen Does it Again
I mean, what else is there to say? After taking over the scoresheet in Games 6 and 7 in Round 1, Rantanen did it again on Wednesday with his second straight hat trick, and his 12th, 13th, and 14th points in his past four games. On top of that, he has had a point in his team’s last 12 goals. Everyone remembers the epic third period in Game 7, but it started in a 6-2 win in Game 5, and he carried it into Round 2 with relative ease.
In Game 7, Rantanen literally took the game over, willing the puck into the net and, consequently, his team to victory. In Game 1 on Wednesday, it came with a bit more puck luck. On the first goal, Rantanen pounced on a rebound in the crease, created by a shot from Evgenii Dadonov, and poked it in with one hand. His second goal was a tip-in from a Thomas Harley point-shot. The third goal was the only goal that was scored with a legitimate shot off Rantanen’s stick. When star players are playing well, the puck seems to find them, and that is exactly what is happening right now with Rantanen.
“Let’s see how long he can run this for,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Yeah, he’s rolling and he’s feeling it. Pretty impressive, what he’s doing. I mean, considering the opponent and the time of year and how he’s dominating games — really impressive.”
“Sometimes it’s ups and downs in hockey, and now it’s going well individually and as a team,” Rantanen said after Game 1. “But it’s important in the playoffs, like I’ve said before, if you win or have a good game never get too high. You’ve got to reset and enjoy. Enjoy it for five minutes after the game then reset.”
Special Teams Continue to Click for Stars
This is a drum that I’ve been beating for the last two weeks, and the Stars won’t let me stop now. The Stars are rolling on special teams, and it’s continuing to be a deciding factor in every win they walk away with.
Heading into Wednesday, the Stars were fourth in the NHL on the power play this postseason, and third on the penalty kill. It’s not uncommon for one aspect of the special teams to be rolling, and the other to be floundering. But when their both clicking? That’s quite the recipe for success, and that was the story yet again for the Stars in Game 1.
The Stars took the first three penalties of the night, two in the first period and one in the second, and killed them all. The Jets took their first penalty of the game at 16:11 of the second period, and the Stars scored 27 seconds later.
Overall, the Stars were 1-for-2 with the man advantage and killed off all four power-play opportunities they gave the Jets. In what was a storyline-filled opening round, this seems to be something that has been lost in the shuffle. The Stars were a top-three penalty killing team all season, but the power play is on fire as well, which is a deadly combo the deeper they go in the playoffs.
Oettinger Keeps on Doing His Thing for Dallas
The goaltending battle between Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck was a big topic of conversation heading into this series, and it will continue to be as the series rolls on. On Wednesday, both of them played well, but it was Oettinger who left the rink with the win.
As crazy as this may seem, I do believe that Oettinger has the edge in this series. Hellebuyck is the best goaltender in the world right now, and he’s about to prove it with his second straight Vezina Trophy, and maybe even the Hart Trophy as well. However, playoffs have been a different story for the Winnipeg netminder, and he still has something to prove as far as his play in the postseason. For Oettinger, however, it’s just status quo between the pipes, and he got the job done again in Game 1, stopping 29 of 31 shots, including seven when his team was killing penalties.
His numbers aren’t overly flashy, with a .914 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average. They are certainly good, but not great. However, he keeps on making the key saves and that right time, that’s really what he will be judged by.
“I thought Oettinger was excellent,” Rantanen said. “I think we played a good two periods, and then they were pushing really hard in the third, and we kind of sat back maybe too much. We talked about trying to be aggressive, but they’re obviously a very good team. They were pushing, and we were kind of on our heels. ‘Otter’ was the difference-maker in the third.”
Rare Game 1 Victory for the Stars
This team has been to two straight conference finals. Can you believe that, before last night, they were 0-8 in their last eight Game 1s? I know, me neither. But, they broke that streak last night with a big win on the road, and look to head back home with a 2-0 series lead. Game 2 is back in Winnipeg on Friday night.
