Stars Stuff: Mavrik Bourque's four-point night, Edmonton shreds LA, Winnipeg and Colorado tied, and Demko out versus Nashville

It's all connected.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more exhausted after a playoff game. From the comfort of my barcalounger sure, but still. This Vegas vs. Dallas series has turned into a veritable powder keg of talking points. Mark Stone, LTIR, the quality of the national broadcast, and whatever the hell this was. (Sorry Stars fans. AI is not cool. Have you seen AI’s version of Martin Scorsese??!)

I get it though. It’s hard not to jump ahead. If Dallas loses, you’re gonna get ten editorials about how Vegas won by exploiting the cap, and ten more about why Vegas didn’t. I want to dedicate a proper piece to that discussion, because the discourse is absolutely out of control (and quite awful), and hey — one thing at a time. Besides, if Dallas wins, everyone will forget about it right!

Speaking of, with a little more distance, and a soberer mind, my thoughts haven’t changed from what I wrote at D Magazine and here in the immediate aftermath. I think Monday’s game made it apparent that a better team was present (Dallas), but the performance to me didn’t feel like evidence of that per se.

However, how Dallas looked also misses the point. As cheesy as it sounds, Dallas has to find a way to win. Vegas is gonna take away shooting lanes. And because Dallas doesn’t grade out as an elite or even average passing squad, they can’t take shortcuts either. That leaves what?

Players to watch tonight

Roope Hintz

I hate Twitter. I feel bad for the people that saw my comment about Hintz looking sharp after his first couple of shifts…after the game and the day after. But that’s on Twitter, not me. And he did! He made some aggressive plays, and was using his speed. And then he just completely disappeared. However, so did a lot of players. Hintz is the number one center on this team, and he was by far the best forward for Dallas last season. Needless to say, the Stars need that dude back.

Thomas Harley

Harley had maybe his worst game of the year. Vegas’ forecheck looked like it rattled him a bit, but he also looked like he was fighting the puck at times; an odd thing for someone so gifted. Harley and Heiskanen don’t need to be fancy. They just need to be direct. While there’s a lot of expectation on Harley, it’s easy to forget how young he is. For once, his inexperience peaked through a bit.

Jake Oettinger: and the PK

If we want to talk about goals against, Oettinger shouldn’t be discussed without also mentioning the PK units in front of him.

Evgenii Dadonov

I think Dadonov might be a better player than Craig Smith, at least in a vacuum, but he was not part of the fourth line for very long. I think that was the weirdest thing about starting the fourth line like that — it wasn’t even the fourth line as we know it. Dadonov makes sense if players like Dellandrea or Mavrik Bourque (who had a four point night in Texas’ Game 1 win!) are on your fourth line. But a playmaker next to Radek Faksa is a non-starter, or should be at least.

Edmonton beats LA 7-4

This wasn’t even close. At one point it was 4-0. Edmonton belongs right there with Dallas as a Cup contender. While much of their damage came on the power play, with the usual suspects Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl fueling it, it was always clear who the better team was.

If you’re a Stars fan, it’s hard not to feel a little bitter. The Kings are looking increasingly like cannon fodder. It allows Edmonton to cleanly slide into the second round (famous last words?) no worse for wear, but the Kings still keep them sharp because for as overmatched as they are — they’re still a quality team. There are no overachievers in this year’s Western Conference. But unless something changes dramatically, the Oilers should enter the second round with confidence and momentum.

Winnipeg even its up Colorado

While Stars fans can lament having to play Vegas, what’s clear about playing in the Central is that it’s not just a bloodbath for Dallas and Vegas. Winnipeg and Colorado has been a series every bit as physical and competitive. Georgiev was obviously a gong show in Game 1, but even if he stay even close-ish to his Game 2 form then this series is back to being live. Although I have Winnipeg winning in seven, I don’t think they’re the better team. Like with Vegas and Dallas, they just happen to be a good matchup.

Still, in some ways it’s hard not to be impressed by both teams. Colorado being able to put up 10 goals on Connor Hellebyuck through two games is absolutely nuts, and further highlights just how dangerous they are. Despite the telecast feeding casual fans total bullshit about being the best defensive team in the league — here’s a cheat sheet: at EV per hour, Winnipeg was 7th in shots attempts allowed (9th in all situations), 11th in unblocked shots against (11th in all situations), and 9th in expected goals allowed per 60 (11th in all situations); in other words by literally ANY measure that separates defense from goaltending — they did a good job of frustrating the Avalanche with takeaways and counterattacking.

It’s obviously too early to think about a future matchup with one of these two teams. Vegas is gonna be tough enough as is. But still, in some level I can’t help but feel like Dallas is “home free” until the Western Conference Finals. Both teams have been impressive, but both teams have also done a really good job of showing out each other’s weakness, between Winnipeg conceding too much puck possession, and Colorado conceding too many odd-man rushes.

Thatcher Demko out

The Western Conference doesn’t have any scrubs or overachievers like last year, and one team that is proving that is Nashville. They may have been an underdog, but this is a team that was 6th in expected goal share. While I have Vancouver winning the series, I’ve also been vocal about not being convinced they’re some juggernaut the way their point totals made them look. It’s made for the perfect ingredient for a potential upset.

However, Demko being out might be Nashville’s biggest edge. The Predators are a solid, lowkey dangerous team thanks to Peter-just kidding-Filip Forsberg. Don’t be surprised if this series gives us our first and probably only upset of the year.

About that Mavrik Bourque night

I’ve been slacking on my Texas Stars coverage, but don’t worry. I will fix that in short order. Texas had a big night winning their opening game versus Manitoba, and Mavrik Bourque — who we’ll see in the NHL soon enough — having a four-point night was a big part of that.