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3 Stars Keys to Victory vs. Oilers in the Western Conference Final – The Hockey Writers – Dallas Stars

2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 3 Dallas Stars Edmonton Oilers

Eliminating the two most recent Stanley Cup winners in the postseason already, the Dallas Stars’ road to the Western Conference Final has not been easy. For their next series, they host an Edmonton Oilers team hunting their first win in the third round of the postseason since they went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.

The Oilers should be a serious challenge for the Stars, being as good offensively and defensively as any team left in the postseason. How can Dallas keep the dream of winning their first championship of the 21st century alive?

Play & Win a Low-Event Style

A theme for the Stars, especially late in their first- and second-round series, was their ability to manipulate games to play a low-event style. The Vegas Golden Knights really stood no chance when they stopped getting high-danger scoring looks, and the same thing interestingly happened to a Colorado Avalanche team loaded with talent in the second round.

Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, who had a combined 244 points in 162 regular season contests (1.51 points per game), had just 10 points in 12 combined games against the Stars (0.83 points per game). If Dallas can shut down the scoring output of perhaps the best player in the NHL currently and arguably a top-15 forward on top of that, it says a lot about how dominant they are. The Stars play the game they want — teams have to adapt.

2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 3: Oilers vs. Stars (The Hockey Writers)

If the Stars can mitigate the offense of the Avalanche as a whole, doing the same to the Oilers doesn’t seem so outlandish. No team scored more goals than Colorado in the regular season, yet suddenly they didn’t seem so formidable against Dallas. Edmonton has a similar level of superstar talent and depth as the Avalanche, so the series is essentially a carbon copy in that way.

Contrary to what some might think, the Oilers have a very strong defense and solid depth. However, if you take the impact of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman away, their offense is much less potent. Those three will make their contributions no matter what, but if they don’t completely take over the series, the Stars’ chances look good.

Have the Better Goalie, Win the Series

Probably the biggest advantage for the Stars in the series is their play in net. Stuart Skinner of the Oilers has a high upside, being a legitimately great starter when he’s hot, but his lows can be devastating. In these playoffs, he was kept on the bench for Calvin…

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