EDMONTON — Off the mark and on the brink.
The Dallas Stars simply can’t figure out a way to solve Stuart Skinner, and who would have thought that would be a thing?
Sure, it happened in last year’s Conference Final too.
But surely with the scoring depth of a Stars team that added Mikko Rantanen, Skinner couldn’t do it again, could he?
Edmonton’s favourite whipping boy is clearly living rent-free in the heads of the Stars, and in the process has the Oilers one game away from advancing to their second-straight Stanley Cup Final, thanks to a 4-1 win Tuesday at Rogers Place.
The lads in Victory Green have only managed to score twice during their three-game losing skid against ol’ Stuey, with both goals coming courtesy of Jason Robertson.
That stretch includes a 22-shot period in Game 3 and a 16-shot barrage to open Game 4 Tuesday that saw the visitors throw a playoff-high 39 shot attempts his way.
An incredible 17 of those missed the net, demonstrating just how much the Oilers goaltender has damaged the Stars’ confidence.
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“It felt like last year, in a way — we did everything but fill the net,” said Tyler Seguin, thinking back on their series-ending loss against Skinner’s Oilers in Game 6 last year despite outshooting the hosts 34-10.
“I feel like we missed the net a lot. I felt like I missed the net quite a bit too, so there’s still things to do better.
“Hit the net a bit more, get guys in front of their net a bit more, and bear down a bit more.”
And start relaxing, said Rantanen, which he’s well-aware is easier said than done when you’re staring down a 3-1 series deficit in the Conference Final.
“Yeah, it’s important to hit the net, to try to get the rebound or something like that,” said Rantanen, whose first-round magic has dried up.
“So maybe just to relax a little with the puck, and maybe we’re trying to shoot even too hard and trying too much offensively.”
Trying desperately to score the first goal for the first time in the series, the Stars’ opening onslaught featured a series of hurried shots, misfires and poor decisions around the net that could have set a different tone for a deep squad suddenly short on goals.
What’s worse, the Oilers actually outscored the Stars in that opening frame, when Leon Draisaitl scored the first of the Oilers’ two power-play goals on the night.
It marked another deflating development for the Stars, whose attempts to find offence seemed futile until Robertson tied it with the man advantage seven minutes into the second.
Two minutes later Corey Perry’s tap-in from the crease put the Oilers up for good in a game the hosts shut down from there.
Dallas rarely threatened in the third, mustering just four shots before the Oilers scored two empty netters.
Although the Stars are 7-2 at home this spring, it sure seems like this series is over.
Like Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston has now gone seven games with a goal.
Roope Hintz is scoreless in six, and was unable to record a shot on goal Tuesday while skating on an injured foot the Oilers targeted all night with a series of slashes.
Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment each have one goal all playoffs.
They need more offence, or there won’t be a return trip to Alberta for a squad facing its third-straight Conference Final heartbreak.
“I wouldn’t say strange, I mean it’s playoffs and everyone tightens down defensively,” said Robertson of the team’s sudden scoring woes in a year in which Dallas finished third in offence.
“Scoring chances are coming at a premium.”
And when they do come, the Stars have panicked.
“A little bit of the same story, we just can’t get the lead,” said coach Pete DeBoer, whose club was badly outplayed the last two periods.
“I loved our first period, other than I thought we missed the net too much. We’ve got to make sure we’re hitting the net in those situations.
“To play a period like that and not make it count with a lead is a tough spot.”
Not as tough as trying to stave off elimination Thursday against an opportunistic Oilers team that has smothered you three games in a row with the help of a goalie who has clearly got your number.
“Maybe we deserve a little bit better but the playoffs don’t necessarily care about what you deserve,” said Seguin, who missed the net on four of his eight shots.
“You’ve gotta force the bounces and make the bounces happen by working and we’re one play or one shot away right now.
“There’s a little anger, and there’s excitement to get to go back home in front of our fans and break out a little bit.”
Or have their hearts broken, again.
