How can you not love this sport?
I mean, I get it (kind of) if you’re not into sports in general. Or maybe if your definition of “sport” is watching some slow pace, low energy snooze fest that I would equate to certain activities that will go unnamed in order to avoid bad juju.
But if what you crave in entertainment is fast paced action with physicality, tantalizing scoring chances, the highs and lows of feeling like it’s all over before realizing it’s so not… well, then how can you not love this sport?
Last night’s Dallas Stars win over the Colorado Avalanche in playoff(!) overtime(!!!) had everything you could possibly want from a hockey game. I mean, sure, the first period started out a bit slow for Dallas as they struggled to put pressure on Mackenzie Blackwood yet again. And yes, those Stars power plays in the second were… well, the less said about them the better.
But then you had the third period onwards, and… man, what a game. Seriously, if your friend or loved one is in the unfortunate situation of not being addicted to hockey, give them a taste by showing them last night’s game from the top of the third, or maybe overtime if you’re pressed for time. Heck, if you’re really on a time crunch, just show them the seven straight minutes without a whistle from 12:30 to 5:22 left in OT — do that and I guarantee that they’ll stick around for another three, waiting to see how it ends.
Was it a perfect game for the Stars? Of course not, for both the reasons listed earlier and some others (I think everyone is waiting for the top lines to actually do something at 5-on-5). But for a team missing two of its top players (including their best and most important) and had already squandered its home ice advantage by dropping Game 1… well, this is the kind of response you’d like to see. Maybe it took longer than both the team and fans would have liked, but whatever happened in that locker room during the second intermission, it seemed to light the fire under a team that, despite finishing the season on a seven-game losing streak, was still good enough for a Top-5 finish in the league.
And it was easy to tell, right? Perhaps it’s my victory green colored glasses skewing things, but as exciting and high quality as the second half of the game was, I’m not sure I’d necessarily describe it as “even.” After Dallas tied it up about halfway through the third, dare I saw the Avalanche looked to be playing scared at times, like they had just poked the bear one too many times and were now regretting their decision.
Or maybe it was just that they were exhausted — Colorado is very top heavy, and there’s no stopping the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar; you can only delay them. But even with their injuries, Dallas had depth for days (at least at forward), and the further you get into a playoff hockey game/series/run, the more important that is. And perhaps nothing proves that more than the overtime winner, which came from Colin Blackwell, with Stars player with the least amount of minutes played and who was a healthy scratch in Game 1 (check out Robert Tiffin’s postgame piece for a great break down of the goal).
It’s those types of goals that I always say are what win you playoff games. Yes, the winning teams usually have their top scorers go on a heater to (probably) win the Conn Smythe, as well as the goalie who stands on their head all postseason long. But I feel like more often than not, games end up being decided by that one goal from that one depth player you never expect to put it in the back of the net. Or, in the case of Evgenni Dadonov’s game-tying goal, that one goal from that one depth player that you do expect to score, because they just seem to do it so well for you come playoff time.
Add in a goal from Thomas Harley who, while definitely not a depth player, was out there with the fourth line, plus Tyler Seguin, mostly fresh back from a near-season long injury, on the team’s second power play unit, and it was a night full of of Stars stepping up to the plate and doing all they could to not repeat last year’s mistake of going down 2-0 in the first round. Now, while they’ve still ceded home-ice, they are at least in a much better position to take this series from the healthier Avalanche squad, especially since an extended series means more time for Jason Robertson or, dare I say, Miro Heiskanen to come back.
(Just, uhh, try to take less dumb penalties and score more when the Avalanche do instead, okay?)
• Much praise has been sung for Mackenzie Blackwood, who has stood strong in his first two career playoff games. He deserves it, but I would hesitate to say he’s been playing lights out or standing on his head. For most of Game 1 and a good chunk of Game 2, I feel the Stars weren’t testing him nearly enough, and it was solid positioning and quick, calm reactions that has served him well as opposed to “how on earth did he stop that?” saves (of which there have been a couple, granted).
In the other crease, I think Jake Oettinger has performed much of the same, with the caveat that there have been multiple long stretches this series in which he alone has been getting peppered, whereas Dallas has evidently felt bad for Blackwood and given him various breaks. All of which is to say that Oettinger, while also not standing on his head, has done pretty much everything you can ask for from your starting goaltender.
The real test, of course, will lie in Denver — Jared Bednar will have a better say in line matchups, which means less Thomas Harley and more Lian Bichsel against Nathan MacKinnon and co. That’s when Oettinger is going to have to rise up and makeup for a Stars defense that, while performing well, is still woefully understaffed to deal with the Avalanche’s firepower.
• Although I mentioned some gripes with the Stars’ power plays and their top line, neither were my top two issues from the game. The first was the Stars inability to handle Colorado’s aggressive forecheck, which prevented Dallas from breaking out of their defensive zone and transitioning properly. In theory, you can punish an aggressive forecheck by catching them out of position and getting a odd-man rush… but Dallas couldn’t match the speed of the Avalanche, especially not when the players spent their entire shift just trying to clear the puck and then were gassed and ready for a line change.
The second was the faceoff circle, which was… oof. The final numbers are much closer than I would have expected, given how badly the Avalanche were beating the Stars in the first half of the game. And who can forget the Stars timeout before seven seconds of a 5-on-3 power play… only for Colorado to not only win the faceoff and clear the puck, but then proceed to keep Dallas out of the offensive zone for the next minute (no exaggeration). Oh, and Dallas didn’t even manage a shot on net once they finally did cross the blueline. Yay…
• Finally, some programming notes. Obviously, I never got around to posting more than a couple Afterwords during the regular season — turns out the ability to steam Stars games before 48 hours has passed doesn’t mean much if you still can’t watch find time to watch them for 24+. Oops! And then, of course, just because there were some games I could watch in a timely manner didn’t necessarily mean I could then write about them in a timely manner. Double oops!
All that being said, playoff hockey hits different, and I will continue to do my best to crank out an Afterwords for every Stars game this postseason, however long that may be. Unless, of course, any of the games happen to fall the day before a major US holiday, one in which the following morning must be spent hiding eggs in the backyard and the afternoon visiting with family. But what’s the likelihood of that happening… again?