Views from Dallas: What do the Stars need to do differently against the Oilers?

The Edmonton Oilers now hold a 2-1 series lead, and people are starting to wonder what’s going on with the Dallas Stars’ top players.

Take Mikko Rantanen, for example. He dominated earlier in the NHL playoffs, but in this series, he’s managed just two assists and hasn’t scored a goal in six straight games.

After their dramatic comeback win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, the Stars have struggled to match Edmonton’s pace.

But this series isn’t over yet. To better understand what’s happening with Dallas, I reached out to Sam Nestler, writer and host at DLLS Stars, for insights from the Stars’ perspective.

What have your thoughts been on the series so far?

“Dallas has had moments, but outside of the third-period explosion in Game 1 and the second period of Game 3, Edmonton has been the better team. And even when they played well in the second yesterday, they finished it 1-1 and still down two goals. They just can’t seem to get running in the right direction.”

Why do you think the Stars can win this series? What will it take from them to defeat Edmonton?

“They need Jake Oettinger to take a step up, and he’s not alone. Harley, Johnston, Rantanen, Robertson, Hintz, Marchment, Duchene… There’s a long list of players who they need to get going. They are a deep team, personnel-wise, but production right now shows they are not deep at all at the moment.”

What’s been missing from the Dallas Stars? Some fans are disappointed the top players have yet to step up.

“Same as the previous question. Top guys or depth guys, doesn’t matter. They don’t have enough guys going right now. By the sounds, the Oilers have what the Stars have been missing. Depth scoring has been an enormous reason why Edmonton has succeeded this postseason. After Sunday afternoon, John Klingberg became the 18th different Oilers player to find the back of the net in these playoffs.”

Goaltending has also been a significant factor. Stuart Skinner has dialled it in after Game 1. After four wins so far with Skinner between the pipes, he has a 0.24 goals against average, .991 save percentage, and three shutouts.

On the other hand, Jake Oettinger has an .842 save percentage through the first three games in this series and a goals against average of 4.02. One may view those stats for both goalies as cherry-picked, but right now, one goalie has outperformed the other. Skinner has seemed to shine against the Stars. 

Stars head coach Pete DeBoer also had praise for Skinner during his press conference on Monday afternoon.

“I’m not surprised by Stuart Skinner. I saw it last year.”

As Sam mentioned above, if the Dallas Stars want to tie this series up and have a chance at beating the Oilers, it will have to start with beating Stuart Skinner and getting production from top players like Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Mikko Rantanen. However, scoring of any sort would be a good starting point for them.

Game 4 between the Oilers and Stars is set for Tuesday night at 6:30 pm MST in Edmonton. Dallas will look to even things up, while the Oilers will want to extend their series lead and book their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final as soon as possible.