Well, these series ended rather anticlimactically. Both the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars wrapped up their First Round playoff series in six as they swept aside their opponents to book places in the Second Round.
That’s how you end a series in style.
The Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars, both favorites to win the Western Conference, have furthered their playoff lives as they beat the Los Angeles Kings and the Minnesota Wild, respectively, in six games to face off against their remaining divisional rivals in the Second Round. And, even though the Kings and the Wild gave a great fight, this was to be expected.
Starting off with the Wild, they were fighting an uphill battle to begin with.
Whether it was the cap issues still brewing from the Ryan Sutter (who is actually on the Stars) and Zach Parise buyouts or the numerous injuries sustained to the key impact players, the Wild always felt like the undermanned underdog against a Stars side that has a 3+ lines of high-powered offense and one of the Top-5 best goaltenders in the league.
Even with Filip Gustavsson’s (5 starts, 2 W, .921 SV%, 2.33 GAA) heroics, the Wild’s defense was never going to be able to shutdown Jason Robertson (2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS), Roope Hintz (5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS), Tyler Seguin (4 G, 2 A, 6 PTS), Jaime Benn (1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS), Evgenii Dadonov (3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS), Mason Marchment (2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS), Max Domi (1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS), and Miro Heiskanen (6 A, 6 PTS), while also being able to crack Jake Oettinger (6 starts, 4 W, .929 SV%, 2.01 GAA) over a 6-game series.
And especially not when guys like Joel Eriksson-Ek (1 GP, 0:19 TOI), John Klingberg (1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS), Marcus Johansson (2 A, 2 PTS), Ryan Hartman (2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS), and Oskar Sundqvist (1 GP, 1 G) all going down with injuries at one point or another in the series. Sure, Kirill Kapriziov (6 GP, 1 G), Mats Zuccarello (2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS), and Matt Dumba (2 A) featured in all 6 games, but you need depth and superstar scoring to win a playoff series against any team, let alone some of the best ones in the league like the Stars.
And, seeing as how the Wild only got 3 points from their Bottom-6 forwards and a single goal from their entire defensive core, that was never going to happen. Sorry, Wild fans, but you’re going to have to wait another year for a series victory (which hasn’t come since 2015).
As for the Oilers vs. Kings, you’ve got to hand it to LA for nearly upsetting the most in-form Western Conference team heading into the playoffs.
Given how LA finished the regular season with a mediocre 5-5 record in their last 10 games and suffered elimination at the hands of this very same Oilers team last season, I don’t think many Kings fans would have been too upset if they got beaten 4-0 or 4-1 as the Oilers were the premier juggernaut coming into the playoffs.
Yet, the Kings did anything but give up as they stole Games 1 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, and they even looked as if they were going to go up 3-1 as they had a 3-0 lead and a late 4-3 lead at one point in Game 4. But, as you’d expect from a team with Connor McDavid (3 G, 7 A, 10 PTS), Leon Draisaitl (7 G, 4 A, 11 PTS), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (4 A, 4 PTS), Zach Hyman (2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS), Evander Kane (3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS), and Evan Bouchard (2 G, 8 A, 10 PTS), the Oilers used their experience and superior skill to pull away.
As I said, after winning in overtime 5-4 in Game 4 after trailing 3-0, the Oilers offense really started racking up the goals as they scored 11 in the last two games to wrap up Game 5 6-3 and Game 6 5-4. Honestly, this series really just came down to the Oilers having more experience and playoff nuance than a young, inexperienced Kings team that only has two players from the 2014 Cup win (Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty) and has made the playoffs just twice in the last five seasons.
And, Joonas Korpisalo, who was sensational in the opening few games, really lost his way in the last three deciding games as he had a .881 SV% in Game 4, a .789 SV% in Game 5, and a .808 SV5 in Game 6. You aren’t winning if your goalie can break a .900 SV% in elimination and series-deciding games.
Nevertheless, we’re in for some great Second Round matchups as the Oilers are set to face the Vegas Golden Knights and the Stars the winners of the Seattle Kraken vs. the Colorado Avalanche series.
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