DALLAS — So they meet again, an identical Western Conference Final to a year ago, when the Edmonton Oilers bounced the Dallas Stars in six games.
What’s the biggest thing that has to change for the Stars to end up on the other side of that result this time around?
“Don’t go 0-for-14 on the power play,” said Stars head coach Pete DeBoer. “Really, special teams decided the series.
“When I look back at last year’s series, I don’t think we could’ve played a better Game 6, the elimination game in Edmonton. They found a way to win that game, they found a way to score timely goals.”
You’ll recall the Oilers scoring two power-play goals in the first period of Game 6, and then hanging on the rest of the way. Dallas outshot them 34-10 but went 0-for-3 on the power play, and only Mason Marchment could solve Stuart Skinner, in what was likely Skinner’s finest hour as an Oiler.
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“Stu probably had his best series,” recalled Zach Hyman, “and I just thought that special teams were important. There wasn’t one specific thing — those are all things that usually help you win series.”
Today, the Oilers enter Round 3 with a power play that is at 25.6 percent, but has gone 0-for-14 on the road in these playoffs.
Florida (88.1 per cent), Carolina (87.9 per cent) and Dallas (86.1 per cent) have the top three penalty kills in the post-season, while the Oilers — having been savaged early in Round 1 by the L.A. Kings — are at 66.7 per cent.
The other moment DeBoer referenced was that Game 6 power-play goal by Connor McDavid, where he walked off the flank, beat Sam Steel, then Miro Heiskanen, before backhanding a puck to the shelf for a 1-0 lead.
“Difference-makers are important this time of year. It’s why they get paid the money they get paid in this league,” said DeBoer, who welcomes one of those in Mikko Rantanen. “McDavid did that last year, that power-play goal he scored. We couldn’t have been in a better position, four guys around, and he finds a way to put one in the net.
“There are only a handful of those guys in the league that can make something out of nothing. Edmonton has two of them. So, it’s nice we have one this year.”
Lining ‘em up
The most notable lineup change tonight sees Viktor Arvidsson as a likely replacement on right wing for Connor Brown, who has been absent from practice of late and did not take the morning skate prior to Game 1.
Arvidsson, who came out of the lineup for Game 4 of the Vegas series — replaced by Game 5 overtime hero Kasperi Kapanen — will jump back on a line with Evander Kane and centre Adam Henrique. A veteran of 81 career playoff games and 631 regular-season tilts — not to mention several international assignments for Team Sweden — this isn’t Arvidsson’s first rodeo, a comforting notion for head coach Kris Knoblauch.
“I know the amount of games he’s played and how well he’s done,” Knoblauch said. “Not having him in the lineup with everyone available has been a difficult decision as it is. If someone’s not available to play, I have no hesitation to have him in the lineup.”
Knoblauch called Brown a “game-time decision.” In other roster news, goalie Calvin Pickard (lower body) did not make the trip to Dallas with the team, while Mattias Ekholm took a regular shift at practice, though publicly the Oilers are saying they do not expect him to play in Games 1 or 2.
Here are your expected lines for tonight:
Nugent-Hopkins McDavid Hyman
Podkolzin Draisaitl Kapanen
Kane Henrique Arvidsson
Frederic Janmark Perry
Kulak Bouchard
Nurse Stecher
Walman Klingberg
Skinner
Dallas has been known to go 11-and-7, and that may be the deciding factor on whether defenceman Alex Petrovic draws in or not. Here’s how they looked at the skate:
Granlund Hintz Rantanen
Robertson Duchene Johnston
Marchment Steel Seguin
Benn Back Dadonov
Harley Heiskanen
Lindell Ceci
Bichsell Lyubushkin
Oettinger
Old friend, new foe
Cody Ceci became a well-liked teammate and a respected voice in the dressing room during his three seasons as an Oiler. Now he’s wearing Victory Green and opposing his old buddies in this winner-takes-all Western Conference Final.
“It’ll be definitely weird playing against that group. We spent a lot of time together the last few years and went on some deep runs, so it’ll be a little weird,” Ceci said after the Stars’ morning skate. “We’re all pretty good friends off the ice, but it’ll have to just stay separate a little bit for the next couple weeks.”
Ceci, who played 237 games with Edmonton and 52 more in the playoffs, was particularly tight with Leon Draisaitl. His family vacationed with the Nugent-Hopkins at one point as well.
If this were January, Ceci would likely have spent Tuesday night around a dinner table with a few old teammates, but definitely not in Round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“No. That’s too weird,” he said. “The stakes are too high for that.”
Asked about Ceci, long-time partner Darnell Nurse was short and to the point.
“I’m not going to pump up Cece too much here. He’s on the other team,” said Nurse. “He was a great partner to play with. I see he’s having success here and good for him.
“Hopefully that doesn’t carry on for this series.”
