Oilers need to ‘create chaos’ in order to beat Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger

The rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars gets going tonight. Much like last year, the series begins in the Lone Star State before returning to Oil Country this Sunday. The Oilers are looking for a similar success, if not more, where they took Game 1 on the road and returned home tied at one.

There are many differences from the last time these two teams met. The most significant is the addition of Mikko Rantanen, whom Dallas acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline. He’s leading the NHL playoff point race with nine goals and 19 points, but he is trailed by Connor McDavid (17) and Leon Draisaitl (16). Undoubtedly, he’s the top skater that the Oilers need to watch. However, they’ll also have to find a way to make Jake Oettinger a non-factor in this series, if they want to win.

Oettinger leads the playoffs in save percentage with 0.919 and has also faced 100 more shots than the next goaltender. Despite the high volume of shots, he still holds a 2.47 goals against average. Edmonton started to generate more offence last season after the Stars gained a 2-1 series lead, averaging three goals a game. Can they do it again?

“What Edmonton needs to do is create chaos,” said Devan Dubnyk on Oilersnation Everyday when discussing Oettinger. “If anyone is capable of doing that, it’s the Oilers. That will come down to a combination of establishing a shot and not getting stagnant on the outside, especially on the power play. I don’t think Dallas has been overly tight defensively. They certainly give up their scoring chances. If you can start making life feel more unstructured and chaotic for Oettinger, then you’ll see him start to sit back deeper in his net.”

Edmonton has the advantage if it can create a more free-flowing game. The depth has shown up in their eleven games so far, while Dallas hasn’t. The Oilers are 6-0 when they have 30 or more shots and a goal, and are 7-2 when they score three or more goals. The Stars are 3-3 when allowing 30 or more shots and 3-5 when they allow more than three goals.

The Stars are taking a different offensive approach tonight, with 12 forwards in the lineup. They’ve been playing 11 and 7 since Miro Heskinenan returned, but it’s looking like Oskar Bäck will play. Additionally, Wyatt Johnston is on the second wing with Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene, with Jamie Benn dropping to the fourth line. Connor Brown is the only notable change fans could see tonight, as he was labelled a game-time decision.

Heading into every series, everyone talks about how Edmonton doesn’t have the advantage between the pipes, which is typically true. Oettinger is a great goaltender but so were Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill. The Oilers’ offence is playing more confidently and consistently than we’ve seen before, making you believe they’ll find a way to succeed. We’ll find out when the puck drops on the Western Conference Final tonight.