The Stars might be underdogs now after a Game 4 loss and injury to a key defenseman.
After a 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday, the Dallas Stars suddenly went from being a win away from having a major advantage in the series to now facing questions and doubts about their chances to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Oilers depth was on full display after three lineup changes for Game 4, and coupled with an injury to the lower leg of standout trade acquisition and star defenseman Chris Tanev, the chatter around the tied series seems to be shifting in favor of Edmonton.
Forwards Ryan McLeod and Mattias Janmark added goals for the Oilers Wednesday, giving a much maligned bottom six for Edmonton some needed depth scoring. One of the biggest strengths for Dallas so far this year, and continuing into the postseason, was their depth at the forward position. Compared to the Stars, Edmonton simply did not match up on paper after their top-heavy forward talent. But a little switch-up and a now tied series has given fire to the idea that the Oilers might not be so out of their league when matching any line with any Stars line.
Arguably, for all four games, Edmonton has at least dominated parts of each game, and Dallas has been lucky to hang on and win two of those games. On the other hand, the Stars could have very well won Game 1 in overtime and been up 3-0 in the series by Wednesday, showing just how much of a coin flip the storylines in this series have been. No matter who dominates, the final score is what matters, and in a long series like this is shaping up to be, one or two bounces could be the difference in continuing to fight for a Stanley Cup or coming up short yet again. Both of these teams have experienced a Conference Finals loss in the past two seasons, and neither team wants to go through it again.
Game 5 is of course paramount to which way the series leans next, and the biggest monkey wrench thrown in for Dallas is the injury to Tanev. Without the shot blocking defenseman acquired at the trade deadline from Calgary, Dallas might not have even made it this far. Tanev shut down Jack Eichel in the first round and Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in the second round like it was nothing. His tenacity and grit was on display when he took hit after hit and didn't miss more than a shift or two, even when his tooth was bent into his lip in the second round.
The Stars forward depth remains healthy, with only Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa missing any games due to injury so far. But the blue line can't quite afford to miss one of the top four minute eaters, as the depth is just not there like it is in the forward group.
Stars fans might not even remember what it was like before Tanev, but Jani Hakanpaa continuing not to be an option throws an even bigger question mark into the next few games if Tanev was to miss time. While Hakanpaa was criticized throughout the year by some, he is a trusted, big body defenseman who has a playoff type of style to grind out tough minutes. Instead, Dallas has to put their trust in one of three options:
- Nils Lundkvist, a righty who has double-digit playoff games under his belt this season, but has only averaged under five minutes of ice time in each of those games
- Derrick Pouliot, a lefty who played a handful of regular season games with better-than-expected results while Miro Heiskanen was injured, but has not played a game since early April
- Lian Bichsel, a lefty who has not yet played an NHL game, but just completed a playoff run to the Final in the Swedish Hockey League and also joined the Texas Stars for their playoff run
The Oilers are undoubtedly feeding off the momentum of tying up the series, and the talk on the off day before Game 5 has certainly shifted to giving Edmonton the edge in the series moving forward. Dallas is facing its toughest adversity since being down 0-2 to Vegas in the first round, but losing one of the biggest keys to the playoff run can be a tough blow to overcome.
No matter what others are saying, it is up to the Stars to keep believing in themselves and to remind themselves that this is still a tie series with the home crowd ready to will them on in Game 5, where a win will put Edmonton right back to the brink of elimination. All the doubt about if the Stars can still advance could be put to rest quickly with a bounce-back showing Friday, and Dallas could still punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final by Sunday.
Keep in mind that in the run to winning the 1999 Stanley Cup, the Stars were pushed to six games in the second round and the Avalanche pushed them to the brink in a seven game series in the Conference Final. In the Stanley Cup Final, Dallas was facing a similar 2-2 tie coming back to Reunion Arena for Game 5 before rattling off a home win and finishing it with the famous OT winner from Brett Hull to win the Cup.
The Stars have believed in themselves every step of the way to get this far, and there's no reason they should stop now.
Game 5 is Friday at 7:30 p.m. CDT at the American Airlines Center and can be seen nationally on TNT and truTV.
- Follow Taylor on Twitter: @THN_taylor