Game 1 Stray Observations (First Round): Colorado wins 5-1
It was a pretty performance. Just an ugly outcome.
It’s not just this week. For weeks, everyone’s attention has been on Dallas’ play heading into the playoffs. On the one hand, the hope was that the Stars could flip the switch. On the other hand, their run of play felt like a switch that couldn’t be flipped at all.
For game one, Dallas looked like they had, in fact, flipped the switch. It’s not something I had on my bingo card, but it’s something they more or less did…until it got ugly in the final minutes.
However, there are no moral victories in the playoffs. Every loss makes the climb that much tougher. But if we’re being more or less objective, I think we can call tonight a competitive game, all things considered. Colorado got some quality, “PDO” breaks while Dallas just couldn’t figure out MacKenzie Blackwood. Perhaps that’s the good news: the Avs’ primary weapons felt muted, whereas I noticed players like Wyatt Johnston, Thomas Harley, and Jake Oettinger at key moments.
Does anyone care right now? Maybe not. Dallas once again squanders game one, not to mention, home ice. This is a trend that has to change if they plan on playing beyond the first round, assuming they get out of it. Here’s the fancy stat breakdown per Evolving-Hockey.
Dallas’ penalty kill
A big part of Dallas early composure began with Dallas’ penalty kill. With over a minute of 5-on-3 action, Sam Steel did brilliant work in the middle cutting off Nathan MacKinnon’s cross-seam passes. Granted, MacKinnon seemed to galaxy brain himself on those passes, but that’s still a credit to the league’s top ranked penalty kill. If the Stars plan on doing the unthinkable (without Heiskanen), it starts by limiting offense wherever they can.
Filibustering
That double-minor on Nathan MacKinnon was definitely a weird one. It was a high stick, to be sure. And if the roles were reversed, I’m sure Stars fans would argue a high stick is a high stick. But are missed calls not also a reality in hockey? I don’t want to belabor any point with respect to NHL officiating. It’s not very good, never has been, and there’s no accountability. The only hope here is that they don’t factor into this series any more than they usually do.
Power play
The power play got on board but it didn’t feel like it was clicking. It seemed to be feast or famine. Either they got one grade A chance, or none at all. With Jason Robertson out, you expect some struggles, but there’s very little reason at this point for this man advantage to be such a coin toss with the talent Dallas has. It’s telling that the most dangerous it’s ever been was when the Stars were forced into changing it.
The Dallas Stars power play isn't just fixed. It's some kind of monster.
Special teams is fascinating because it’s only 20 percent of any given game, and yet within that 20 percent is an entire universe of new roles, systems, tactics, and philosophy. Milquetoast broadcasts will drone on endlessly about the momentum shift of a game by pointing out a big hit, or one of hockey’s many glorified wrestling matches, but nothing truly changes the momentum of a game like a violation committed by one team, and the opposing team capitalizing (or not) on that violation.
Defense pairs
Credit where credit is due. The defense pairs were mostly solid. While the Esa Lindell-Cody Ceci pair lost the shot quality battle like you’d expect, it wasn’t the bloodletting I anticipated. Beyond that, Thomas Harley and Ilya Lyubushkin were incredibly effective, as were Lian Bichsel and Alex Petrovic in their limited minutes. Bichsel in particular was able to defend well, and transition his defense into some offensive chances. If there’s a silver lining here it’s that for all the valid criticism directed at the current blueline, they didn’t make many mistakes against a high-powered opponent. This is all you can ask of them: don’t lose the game. Nothing more, nothing less.
Offensive lines
It’s hard to know what to make of the lines. Matt Duchene’s line was very good, which we’ve come to respect. But the other lines generated virtually zero shot quality. The search for someone to better compliment Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. Yes, they were on the same line, but I think Dallas has reached the point where they shouldn’t be having to tetris the right blocks after game 82. Obviously, there’s still time for change the narrative, but the lack of possession beyond the Duchene line was really felt in this game, even if it was a decent overall performance. Regardless, Pete DeBoer seemed content to run that line out against the Cale Makar/Devon Toews duo, and it didn’t work.
The Colorado perspective
This is as depleted a Stars lineup as you’re gonna get. Minus their top defender, and arguably their top forward, the Avs looked anything but dominant. In fact, they looked skittish for two periods, making questionable decisions, and settling for low danger opportunities. If you’re Colorado, and Dallas has any chance of getting healthy in time, this game did not inspire confidence.
However, they won. And that’s what matters. If you’re the Avs, you’re probably feeling good about your x-factor, which was Blackwood, who was excellent. You’re probably also feeling good about the matchups, which you won. But do you look like a team preparing for a deep run? Not really. We’ll see if it’s just rust they’re shaking, and nothing something else.
I thought Dallas played pretty well until they started running out of time, took more risks, and immediately gave up a 3rd goal.
I think that first goal could have easily been wiped out. It was probably the right call but still we've seen goals wiped out for less.
Yeah outside the Duchene line and, at a lower level, the 4th line, it was not that good.
First thing would be to get Benn off of that line. IMHO his presence lower the ceiling of his linemates. So, this is what I would like to see.
Granlund-Wyatt-Rantanen
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Dadonov-Hintz-Bourque
Benn-Steel-Blackwell