In a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night (April 24), the Dallas Stars could not generate any offense at even strength and were forced to score their only goal on the power play from forward Jason Robertson. The Stars got beaten down by the Golden Knights even though they looked like they were going to be dangerous in this game. Despite several chances, they couldn’t get anything to work for them.
With Robertson leading the team in goals through two games, he’s the only player capable of keeping up the pace of the series, and there are a few things the rest of the team needs to do before the Golden Knights find a way to isolate Robertson’s consistent run in the series.
Stars Not Scoring on Their Chances
The Stars created so many chances around the net, including their seven unsuccessful rebounds. Logan Stankoven’s shot in the middle slot and Wyatt Johnston’s cut to the net were great opportunities, but Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson made some quick saves to hold them off. Vegas was able to bounce back on defense and then counter it with offense, as shown by their first goal of the game.
The Stars set themselves up to dominate from the start of the game, getting the first goal, and their power play isn’t struggling. However, they could do a lot more with three talented forward lines. Robertson has been the only one to score consistently so far, and this season, he was one of their more reliable options on offense, scoring 80 points through 82 games. Stankoven, Johnston, and Roope Hintz were the only other forwards with more than two shots.
Credit must go to goaltender Jake Oettinger, who made some incredible saves to keep the Stars in the game. Despite stopping 23 of 25 shots, he was named the game’s third star, preventing what might have been a blowout.
Stars’ Defense Outworked
In both games, the Stars have been outworked on defense, allowing several rushes by the Golden Knights. By the end of the game, they looked tired and collapsed into Vegas’ trap. The Stars finished Game 2 with a Corsi of 57 percent, as opposed to the Golden Knights’ 43 percent, which means the Stars didn’t face much offensive attack at even strength. The Golden Knights simply won this contest because they were the better team defensively.
Going into Game 3, the Stars need to play improved defense and use their skilled offensive depth to outplay the Golden Knights. Veteran defensemen Ryan Suter, Chris Tanev, and Esa Lindell need to do much more to help out the young blueliners Miro Heiskanen, Nils Lundkvist, and Thomas Harley. Right now, Mason Marchment and Jamie Benn are leading the team in hits with 11, and not a single defenseman is within the top three on the Stars in hits this series, leaving most of the physicality to the forwards.
Heiskanen has stepped up with two points, which are tied with Robertson for the most points on the team so far. Heiskanen and Harley have been great at getting points from the blue line this season, but there is no sign of Harley in this series, and he should be a bigger offensive threat. Harley will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this offseason, and it will be up to him to generate more effort around the team if he wants the best contract.
What Can the Stars Do to Help Robertson?
Robertson, paired with Hintz and Joe Pavelski, will benefit him, but it’s a matter of how soon Hintz and Pavelski will show up in crucial moments and whether it will be enough to keep the Stars in this series.
Robertson, Pavelski, and Hintz combined for 35 goals in the regular season in over 500 minutes playing together. There is no excuse for their sudden slowness; they need to pick up the pace with their roster around Robertson.
Hopefully, going into Game 3, the Stars’ offense can find more balance and push forward to a victory to kick off their first game in Vegas with a bang.
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