Stray Observations (Game 65): Dallas starches Edmonton and never lets up in 7-2 victory

It got ugly and uglier...for Dallas' opponent.

I was looking forward to Thursday night. It’s critical that win or lose, Dallas plays strong games, especially against their rivals. They’ve been doing that, which made Edmonton — at least theoretically — a decent test. Sure, they seem to have downgraded no thanks to Stan Bowman, but Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are still on the other end. You have to respect that.

Dallas decided not to and ended up just ripping through them like a paper bag. Tristan Jarry was hung out and left to dry, and instead of drawing penalties with skill (Bowman has taken that away year by year), they took a bunch of penalties instead when things didn’t go their way. Wherever Dallas’ season ends up, I think it’s safe to say that they won’t have to worry about the Oilers when all is said and done. Edmonton has enough problems of their own making.

The end result is a team that is no longer just dreaming about catching the Avalanche, but could very well pull it off (although Colorado is up 3-0 after one over the somehow didn’t sell Seattle Kraken, so the five-point gap will likely remain). It will still take a very modest miracle, but it’s no longer out of the question.

It would be great if that would be the end of it. Instead, the physical hijinks that consistently characterizes George Parros’ NHL became front and center. Recall that Brandon Hagel was only fined $5,000 for doing this to Rasmus Dahlin. That’s the same amount as William Nylander for being seen flipping the bird in the pressbox; $5,000 less than what Mikhail Sergachev got for doing the same thing as Nylander directly to the hallway cameraman. So when Trent Frederic got only a minor for throwing gloved punches to Justin Hryckowian, I figured it’d be that kind of night. The fact that even Dave Jackson almost took a stance in protest tells you everything you need to know.

The Department of Player Safety is a joke and everyone except the NHL lanyards knows it. I’ve already rant and raved about it, so I won’t do that here for the sake of my blood pressure. But while Stars fans can walk away and laugh about it — and you should; that picture of Hryckowian is certified epic — how would things have looked if that was Radko Gudas going after Wyatt Johnston instead of Jason Dickinson? Or Sam Bennett on Hryckowian? This isn’t violence. It’s just chaos. The difference is why we have to watch Auston Matthews get his knee taken out. The difference is why Dallas may well have to worry about another Joe Pavelski or Roope Hintz moment. The NHL loves a sore loser I guess.

I don’t mean to be a neghead downer here. That was a legitimately great performance from nearly everyone involved. It’s a performance representing the slow transformation of this group evolving into something far above and beyond the team they were in October through December. But it’s ridiculous for any fans to have to worry about the health of their stars just because this league doesn’t know where to draw the line.

Utter destruction

Dallas has played some great games lately, but the first period of this game was the most dominant Dallas has looked all season. No asterisks. They gave Edmonton zero room to breathe in all three zones. Shot attempts were 18 to 5, giving Dallas an obscene 78 percent of the shot share through the first twenty.

Wyatt Johnston hits 22

Johnston’s 22 goals marks him 8th among PP goal leaders since 2007. That’s above two of Alex Ovechkin’s seasons, and three shy of moving into the top five. However, adjusted for minutes, Johnston is 4th overall since 2007. It’s funny. The phrase ‘power play merchant’ is often used as a pejorative, and yet only the most elite players top these lists. Johnston is in that company.

Jamie Benn

I feel like it’s almost gone completely ignored that Benn is six goals shy of 20. I don’t believe he’s suddenly found that magical elixir. But his game seems a lot more poised than usual. There’s no panic to his playmaking, which is where I always thought he got into trouble the most, and he just seems to be in the perfect headspace. It obviously helps that he’s part of a very very good trio.

Let’s watch that one again

Just insane work by Matt Duchene¹.

Meandering Strays

• I think it’s settled. Matt Duchene, Sam Steel, and Jamie Benn have to stay a line no matter what happens.

• Once again, the power play keeps humming. Like I say everytime I say it in this section: a lot of credit goes to Neil Graham here.

• Hryckowian isn’t just becoming a solid addition. He’s arguably a difference maker. When fully healthy, I have to think he’s going to the fourth line, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t.

• Once again, Myers and Bunting just aren’t on the ice enough to give us enough info to evaluate. However, I’m wondering if it’s the transition more than anything. Time will tell.

• The Oilers just don’t look like a serious team right now. They have strong odds of playing Vegas (18 percent), Utah (15 percent), or Anaheim (14 percent). L.A. is a longer shot and even then I might pick any of them to beat the Oilers.

1. Somehow Duchene’s goal may not have even been the prettiest of the night.