It’s getting harder and harder to come up with new and fresh takeaways for the Dallas Stars, as every night it is just more and more of the same. The Stars lost Game 4 to the Edmonton Oilers 4-1, and while it was maybe their best game of the series, the end result was deja vu all over again.
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With the loss, the Stars go down 3-1 in the Western Conference Final and are one more loss away from losing this series for the third straight year. The Oilers, on the other hand, are in their third conference final in the last four years, and are one win away from going to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. However, if the Stars could find a way to come back and win this series, the narrative would be flipped, and it would be the Oilers who would have lost two of their last three trips to the final four. But with every period that passes by, it seems less and less likely that the Stars can get the job done.
Here is one giant takeaway from the night that was in Edmonton.
Special Teams Evaporating at the Worst Time
Special teams have been the secret sauce for the Stars through the first two rounds of the playoffs and Game 1 of this series. In the last three games, it has dried up, and at the worst possible time. Whenever we’ve talked about the Stars’ special teams struggling throughout the regular season, it has been in regard to the power play. It’s been a rollercoaster year in that department. The penalty kill, however, has been as steady as it gets, sitting in the top five throughout the entire season.
There is a whole other conversation about their troubles scoring 5-on-5, and rightfully so. But, the truth is that right now, the power play is where the Stars’ bread is buttered, and it’s not getting the job done at the rate at which they need it to. They were 1-for-4 on Tuesday night, which would be okay in normal situations. But their lack of ability to score at even strength is putting even more pressure on the power play units, and it’s starting to show.
The real issue is the part of their game that has come to be one of the most trusted and relied upon, their penalty kill. Before this series started, the Stars’ penalty kill was third in the NHL at 86.1%. In just four games, that number has dipped down to 80.7%, which is now fifth in the league. In the conference final alone, the Stars are at 64.3%, which is last among the four teams remaining. Now, their power play is at 33.3% in this series, but when the other half of the special teams is as leaky as it is, it hasn’t really mattered.
After allowing a power-play goal in the first period, Jason Robertson tied the game for the Stars with one of his own. Shortly after, the Stars took another penalty, and the Oilers capitalized with a goal a little over two minutes after Robertson’s tally.
It should be noted that the Stars were the better team through 40 minutes, however, penalties and their inability to kill them off erased every good thing that was accomplished, and that is the problem right there.
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The other day, we touched on the fact that the Stars had allowed the first goal in 13 of the team’s 16 games this postseason. Well, make that 14 of 17, and that first goal was on the power play, due to a needless penalty from their captain, Jamie Benn.
Penalties and their inability to kill them are consistently sinking the Stars’ opportunity to build their momentum throughout a game. Game 5 could be their last opportunity to right the ship and live to fight another day.
Building Blocks
The first 40 minutes of Game 1 and the entirety of Game 2 were nothing to write home about. However, these last two games have been insanely better, and especially so on Tuesday night. Yet, there are more things that we could point to on the negative side of their game. Obviously, their 5-on-5 play. There’s also the lack of reaction or punishment applied when the Oilers take cheap shots at their best players. Jake Oettinger also hasn’t looked himself so far through four games. However, the Stars are at home for Game 5 and are a much better team than they’ve shown thus far, even in the good moments.
Maybe the Oilers are inevitable. But the Stars should be confident of their game too, and we’ll see how confident they are as they fight for their lives in Game 5 on Thursday.
