Game 76 Stray Observations: Dallas beats(down) Edmonton 5-0
Tonight's OTHER beatdown, I should say.*
*The other being the Rangers/Devils line brawl.
Everyone keeps talking about Vegas and Colorado as the teams to fear, but for me, it’s Edmonton. Yes, part of that stems from any cursory or extensive look at their underlying numbers: statistically, this is one of the most dangerous teams from shift to shift in the entire analytics era. But it’s also a gut feeling that no matter how questionable their blueline (which I think is generally fine, especially if they ever give Broberg shifts over Kulak; it’s not the best, but take away the dead money on some of these players, and they’re otherwise fine in a vacuum), having the best player in the world go super saiyan might be all you need.
Needless to say, Dallas had their work cut out for them. Except for a matchup versus Colorado next week (I’d mention Winnipeg but they’re in the late season Bowness freefall), this would be the most meaningful game prior to the postseason. And the Stars came up like 7-Up. Or in this case 5-0.
Not only were Dallas’ highest-paid players front and center, but so was the depth. More importantly, so was the team’s future. Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston in particular went ballistic. Johnston hit goal #30, at just 20 years of age. What kind of company is that for a 20-year old? See for yourself.
I’ve been talking a lot about Johnston since July, not only here in the film room, but at D Magazine in terms of analytics. His mindfulness is singular, and well — we all know the rest.
But the most important part of all this, beyond just the player and the team’s aspirations this season, is that it means Dallas’ window is not just wide open, but it’s here to stay (open). For several years now, Dallas’ window has been synonymous with its top line. Is that the case at this point? I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s the Johnston/Stankoven/Bourque/Bichsel window at this point. These are no longer just young players kicking ass. They’re young players making history, showing up their peers, but more importantly — taking an elite team like Edmonton to the woodshed.
Programming note: One thing I’ve been thinking about is making sure the Stars Stack has you covered for what promises to be a deep playoff run. I’ll be doing the What We Saw/What It Felt Like nightly recaps at D Magazine with Sean Shapiro. But I’ll also have Stray Observations after each playoff game here too. If this season turns into something historic, Stars fans should be covered. Speaking of which, don’t forget we have a Discord community of Stars fans. Are you in?
If so, now’s the time.
Some Radek Faksa love
I’m never gonna walk back my broad problem with Faksa; namely that his defense so low in the lineup is wasted, and of course, the contract. But his presence on the fourth line is a big part of why that line is so dominant in their minutes. The ripple effect, as we talked about the other day, is a big part of why Dallas is able to roll the other three lines without overworking in any one offensive line. No matter what I say about him, he’s one of the players I’ll be rooting for most to see lift a Cup. So good on him.
Side note: I only so much space to talk about the game, but obviously a lot of credit goes to Sam Steel, who was even better.
Roope Hintz looking like playoff Hintz
I’ve said my peace on Hintz. He should finish with his third consecutive season crossing the 30-goal barrier against increasingly tougher minutes, and still fans seem disappointed. But I definitely get where fans are coming from. Hintz has a very tangible game, for lack of a better term. As in, we associate his obvious physical traits — like his speed and ability to finish on breakaways — with his value. So naturally if we see less of the former, we’ll think less of the latter. But this undersells the impact of his tougher minutes. Against better players, you can’t cheat. Against better players, you can’t slack defensively. Against better players, you have to sacrifice more.
Tonight felt like a return to those tangible details of his game.
Jake Oettinger looking sharp
Oettinger continues to look like a player eager to get these last few regular season games out of the way to strike a match and start anew. If this last stretch is any indication, he’s already started. That’s the best possible news for Stars fans because really, it was their only question mark. (Which I would argue it still is until proven otherwise in — it’s gonna take more than a string of games to erase that .900 save percentage.)
Seguin-geron?
Another player who had what I thought was a genuinely great game was Seguin. Blcoking shots, playing McDavid tight on the PK, and scoring a goal on the PP? He continues to be the five-tools player he’s had to become following his injuries, which makes him a key piece going into the postseason; something that feels essentially impossible given how he looked and where he was only two years ago.
The Edmonton Perspective
Make no mistake. The Oilers are still killers.
Whether these two teams meet in the Western Conference Finals is beside the point. One thing I’ll add is that Edmonton still took the regular season series by a wide margin. (Not sure what I was thinking; for some reason I thought Edmonton played Dallas four games and won them all previously; which is bizarre and maybe indicative of this old man’s crippled body) I would not expect a performance like this to be replicated in the postseason. It’s a great win for the Stars, but let’s be real about what we’re talking about.
One thing that makes the win more important than just the performance is that it also potentially ensures that Edmonton and Vegas draw each other in the first round. This is significant for obvious reason.
For the person who wondered whether Ryan used Craig of the Creek (lol - still have no idea what that is but I enjoy the name) as an inspiration, I am sad to report to you that he did not. Just thought you should know.
Your note at the end about Edmonton winning the season series by a wide margin confuses me… am I forgetting a game, Dallas beat them up early in November then lost a great game in February then smacked the oilers around just now. Am I missing something or are you conflating previous years into this season?