EDMONTON, AB — After taking a 2-1 series lead with an impressive Game 3 win in Edmonton, the Dallas Stars have allowed the series to get away from them, as their offense has gone ice cold.
As a result, the Stars must win Games 6 and 7 — or their Stanley Cup Playoff run is over.
Welcome, Mavrik Bourque
The Stars brightest young prospect will make his playoff debut tonight. The Most Valuable Player this year in the AHL will get his shot to give a spark to a stagnant Stars offense. Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer has been sitting on Bourque as an option all through these playoffs, waiting for the 22-year-old to be fully ready for the moment. At morning skate on Sunday, DeBoer said he felt like this was the time, especially given Dallas' offensive struggles of late. The Stars went the final 54:31 of Game 4 without a goal, giving away an early 2-0 lead. They then went the first 54:09 of Game 5 without a goal, stringing together a stretch of 108:40 without scoring, before Wyatt Johnston's late 3rd period goal in Game 5 finally ended the drought.
Enter Mavrik Bourque. And Stars fans better hope he's not the only shift in Dallas' offensive mentality.
Shoot the puck
The Stars are a wonderfully gifted offensive team, with talent up and down their four lines of forwards. They're the deepest offensive team in the sport. But with all that talent sometimes comes the desire to make the perfect play, the perfect pass, the perfect shot. They're playing against a goaltender in Stuart Skinner who is prone to give up goals. In this series, Skinner (and the Edmonton defense) has looked great. The Oilers work in their own zone deserves to be commended here, as they have helped to keep the Stars opportunities to a minimum. But at some point, the Stars need to shoot the puck and force Skinner to make saves. It doesn't have to be a perfect shot to beat him. It has to be a shot. Passes don't score.
DeBoer's perfect Game 7 record
Expect for the Stars to come out playing a desperate brand of hockey tonight, with their playoff lives on the line. But don't be surprised if the Oilers match that level of intensity. Edmonton will be playing in front of a rabid, hungry-for-greatness Canadian hockey crowd, eager to see their team punch it's ticket back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, and only their second time since the franchise's dynastic run of the '80s and [very] early '90s.
The Oilers also assuredly know about Pete DeBoer's perfect 8-0 record in Game 7s as a head coach – a record that was added to earlier in these playoffs, when Dallas defeated Vegas in the first round. A return trip to Dallas for a Game 7, with the Stars suddenly, hypothetically, holding the momentum again of a Game 6 road win, is the type of fire the Oilers would rather not play with.
This is Edmonton's Game 7. The Stars won't be able to just rely on having a desperation edge. They'll have to legitimately play better hockey.