From a fan perspective, the Dallas Stars are looking to make up for 2020.
Early in the pandemic, when the NHL held all of its Stanley Cup Playoff games in Canada, the Stars (a bit surprising considering how they started) made it to the Cup Final before losing to Tampa Bay. The nearly two-month playoff struggle did nothing for Dallas. There are no home games, no one wearing Stars jerseys at Victory Park, and no crowd crowding into the bars and restaurants near American Airlines Center to watch the games.
Heck, the hockey writer at the time couldn't even get through customs in Edmonton. It was a different world.
Now, the Stars are playing like an out-of-this-world team and giving Dallas fans their money's worth at every turn. The Stars, who defeated defending Cup champion Vegas in seven games, will have another chance to wrap up the series in front of their home crowd on Wednesday night (7 p.m. regular time) because of what happened in Denver. right.
Games 92 and 93 were the best for Dallas after a long struggle to reach triple digits. We would have been even more amazed at what the Stars accomplished in the first two rounds on the road if the world champion Texas Rangers hadn't gone 11-0 on the road last October. After dropping the first two games at home to Las Vegas, Dallas won several very close games to tie the series and give the Stars a chance, which they made the most of in Game 7.
Against Colorado, a team that looked very scary in the first two games here, the Stars were able to score a couple of goals in the blink of an eye and lace up their skates. I have never seen Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon, who scored 140 points, or defensive speedster Cale Makar cancel out a long game of hockey so smoothly and so decisively. I've never seen it before. The Stars won the games in Denver, 4-1 and 5-1, ending a nine-game playoff losing streak in which all games were either one-goal games or one-goal games with zero net scores in the final seconds.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said he thought his team's defensive effort was even better in Game 3 than it was in Game 4, but I think the Colorado A's (assistant captains MacKinnon, Makar and Mikko Rantanen) ) took the fourth game scoreless. First time in the playoffs. They had eight shots on goal, but none were able to score behind Jake Oettinger.
Wyatt Johnston, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Tuesday, had eight shots on goal, matching his group. He continued his dominant play with two goals — one shorthanded and one on the power play. Looking at this team's early Conn Smythe Trophy candidates, only Miro Heiskanen is in the same discussion as Johnston.
“He came out possessed,” DeBoer said. “There's no question that he's probably going to wear a letterer for this series sooner or later. He's just an incredible kid.”
Of course, the letter is either a “C” for captain or an “A” usually given by three assistants. It was the Avalanche A's (with longtime captain Gabriel Landeskog out with an injury) that led to a come-from-behind victory in Game 1, but still got back into the series against the visitors Wednesday night, sending everyone back to Denver. It gives us a great chance to pull back. Heading into Friday night's Game 6.
But without leading scorer Val Nichushkin, who is suspended until at least November as part of the Player Assistance Program, Colorado will have to solve the puzzle of speeding up the neutral zone that Dallas closed. .
The Stars took the lead in Game 4 by scoring shorthanded and also rejected a heinous penalty, destroying Colorado's vaunted power play. This was a complete team effort, and one wonders if the Stars can do this against the Avalanche — and of course get the job done — against any Canadian team that comes next. They can do the same and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals with New York or Florida, or whoever happens to survive in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It's not a criticism of Oettinger to say he didn't need to be great just because the Stars beat Colorado 4-1 and 5-1. Although he excelled in special moments, Abs' shots on goal were very limited and true scoring chances were very rare, so it was the Nets who grabbed Colorado's soul and refused to let go. It was the Stars team, not the Minders.
The 2022 Cup champions could get another solid effort at home and quietly bring a series that was expected to go to Game 7 to a close.
Read more of The Dallas Morning News' coverage of the Stars here.
