Game 2 Stray Observations (First Round): Dallas 4-3 over Colorado

Wow.

As I reflected more — in addition to rewatching of the tape — on Dallas’ game 1 loss, the less positive I felt. Sure, the Stars looked good for long stretches, but it reminded me too much of the Winnipeg loss, where they also looked good…at least until they didn’t. Winnipeg gradually pulled away, and did so without much of a fuss. But it wasn’t about the loss itself so much as the response needed from what happened previously: in this case, a historic collapse to Vancouver.

Victory is not mandatory to prove your worth. In a game where so much luck is involved, I think it’s a silly expectation, in fact. But a strong performance should be. With Dallas’ back against the wall that night, we didn’t get that. But back then, it was about optics. The season wasn’t at stake. Tonight it was. And tonight Dallas punched back in a way they simply didn’t seem capable of.

I don’t think you analyze a game like that. At a certain point, both teams were no longer on the ice, but in the ring. Every shot, pass, and dangle looked like it was conjured out of a fist. I didn’t see hockey. I saw desperation. I’m not sure that’s the best way to play, and it’s certainly not sustainable, but who cares — that’s exactly what playoff hockey calls for, and no sport has desperation on speed like playoff hockey.

Now the series heads to Denver. The climb gets just a little steeper. Okay, a lot. It’ll be interesting to see what Jared Bednar does with the matchups. We can be sure that Nathan MacKinnon will see a lot of the non-Thomas Harley pairs, but what else do we get? So far Colorado’s secondary scoring hasn’t offered much. If Bednar can’t get offense out of anyone other than MacKinnon, it’s easy to see this series going the distance. Which, as you know…was not on my bingo card.

Physicality

I often see people lament Dallas’ lack of physicality. Which is true: Dallas hits a lot less than most teams. I’ve never really cared for this “thesis.” Dallas’ best players don’t play physical, so the idea that this will make an impact the way it’s often argued seems specious, to say the least.

But I’ll defend it for once, and say that playing physical at least gives them a different dimension, which is something they can use — not so much the hits, but the ability to switch up looks for opposing defenders. This is less about hitting being good for them, and more about hitting being good for a group that has struggled to generate an identity otherwise. At least it’s something to rally around. If you can’t beat ‘em. Beat ‘em up.

Thomas Harley

Not enough praise can be heaped upon the Canadian blueliner. Without Heiskanen, he isn’t just being asked to play more minutes (almost 28 through three periods). He’s being asked to stabilize the blueline the way Heiskanen has for so many years, and like Heiskanen, for so many years he’s lacked reinforcements. Despite this, he’s been able to break the game wide open with his shot, but more critically — he’s a stalwart on defense. Playing against Nathan MacKinnon would be exhausting on its own, but he doesn’t have a partner who can ease the burden.

Special teams

The power play feels like feast or famine. While they got on board, they had a stretch in the second period where Colorado was on the penalty kill for more than half of the final 10 minutes. And they outscored Dallas 1-0.

This is the kind of work that catches up to teams. To the extent that momentum exists, to me it exists in that 20 percent of the game where the chances of a goal being scored increases exponentially. There’s still time for the power play to start clicking. Again, it’s only two games. But the top unit still looks like it’s working out the bugs, which ideally, doesn’t stay unmarked on the Things They Need To Do In Order To Win This Series checklist.

Unsung heroes

The shift by Colin Blackwell to end the first period should keep him in the lineup. For good. He’s had a pretty strong season, pound for pound. Having routinely been a healthy scratch for lengthy stretches, and in limited minutes, he’s done everything you could ask for in a 13th forward and then some.

However, while I think everyone can agree that Blackwell was noticeable, somebody else that deserves a pop is Ilya Lyubushkin. Breaking up that two-on-one with MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen more or less saved the game. Being asked to punch above his weight class, he held his own in the defensive department against some of the most dangerous forwards.

And of course, no list of unsung heroes — as it was last postseason — is complete without Evgenii Dadonov. Often asked to play too high up the lineup, or too low, he’s never had the opportunity to find a rhythm except to be spackle when needed. That makes it hard for any player to accomplish much, but Dadonov managed to squeeze 40 points out of his undefined role, so credit to him.

Also, because I know you want to see it again.

The Colorado perspective

If you’re the Avs, you’re feeling fine, and not fine. Fine because the next two games are in Denver, where you’ve been very good. Not fine because you lost to a Dallas team without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. How does this series look if just one of these players are back?

The other issue for Colorado is that all of their deadline additions haven’t shown much. If anything, Colorado’s fourth line has been as good as MacKinnon, and better than Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, and Valeri Nichushkin. Colorado can probably still win this series even if they never show up. But all it means is more drama in overtime like Monday night/Tuesday morning. At that point you’re just rolling the dice.

The Avs are still in the driver’s seat, IMO. But they don’t have both hands at the wheel.