The Dallas Stars were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday.
The Stars qualified for the playoffs as the No. 2 seed from the West. They advanced to the conference final for the third consecutive season and were eliminated by the Oilers for the second straight time.
The skinny
Potential unrestricted free agents: Jamie Benn, F; Matt Duchene, C; Evgenii Dadonov, F; Mikael Granlund, F; Colin Blackwell, F; Brendan Smith, D; Cody Ceci, D
Potential restricted free agents: Mavrik Bourque, F; Nils Lundkvist, D
Potential 2025 Draft picks: 5
Here are five reasons the Stars were eliminated:
1. Scoring disappeared
The Stars, and especially forward Mikko Rantanen, were looking good in this department as the second round began. Then everyone went quiet.
You can go down the list here. Captain Jamie Benn had one goal in the postseason, and that was in Game 3 of the first round against the Colorado Avalanche. Same with center Matt Duchene, whose lone goal came in Game 1 of the conference final against the Oilers. Center Wyatt Johnston’s last goal came in Game 3 of the second round against the Winnipeg Jets. After his hat trick in Game 1 of the second round, Rantanen had one goal through his final 10 playoff games.
After averaging 3.35 goals per game in the regular season, which tied for third in the NHL, Dallas averaged 2.50 in the postseason, which tied for 12th.
2. Road woes
The Stars were 2-6 away from home during the playoffs and it’s where their production issues were most glaring. The Jets shut them out twice in Winnipeg. They had two goals combined in as many games in Edmonton. It's necessary to be able to steal a few games on the road to keep advancing and Dallas didn’t manage a road win after defeating the Jets in Game 1 of the second round at Canada Life Centre.
3. Goaltending
Jake Oettinger was good through the first two rounds, but his numbers fell off against the Oilers in the conference final. Oettinger was 9-8 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 18 playoff starts. He was 1-3 with a 3.93 GAA and .853 save percentage against Edmonton.
In Game 5, Oettinger was pulled at 7:09 of the first after allowing two goals on as many shots. It was quite a surprise, and a tough way for him to end his postseason.
4. Special teams
This was a bit of a mixed bag for the Stars. Their power play was great, going 17 for 53 (32.1 percent) third among playoff teams and the best among the four teams that reached the conference finals. Dallas scored three times with the man-advantage in the third period of Game 1 against the Oilers, helping them come back to win that game, 6-3.
Its penalty kill was so-so overall at 79.7 percent (fifth among playoff teams) but struggled against Edmonton's power play. Of the 16 times the Stars were shorthanded against the Oilers, they allowed six goals (62.5 percent).
5. Falling behind early
Dallas rarely got leads during the postseason; it allowed the first goal in 15 of 18 games, including all five games in the conference final. The Stars were 6-9 in those games. They couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in Game 5, when forward Mavrik Bourque took a high-sticking penalty at 1:47 of the first period and Oilers forward Corey Perry scored a power-play goal 44 seconds later.
It all goes back to their offensive struggles, but if Dallas had been able to get the lead more often, that could have boosted its confidence level. But it wasn’t to be.
