The Dallas Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 last night in a game that could have easily turned into the disaster that was their previous game in Colorado.
I’d love to crunch a bunch of numbers, or offer wise words spoken by sages. But alas, deep thinking and categorization has been replaced by the wonderful system of communication we call Twitter. I jest, but I don’t actively endorse all of Nicholas Carr’s views. Twitter has a lot to offer, but I’d argue it has a lot to offer an analysis of last night’s game in six easy tweets too.
1. Hex over Health for Patrick Eaves
Injury Update: Patrick Eaves has suffered a lower body injury and will not return to tonight’s game. #EDMvsDAL
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 14, 2015
It didn’t take long for Eaves to find himself back on injury reserve. This will be Eaves’ 13th season in the league. Yet he only has 494 pro games to his name. It’s a worrying trend, despite paying off last season. Eaves has been a solid veteran presence in the best sense of the word, but with so many names in Cedar Park (and the press box), there are plenty of forwards chomping at the bit to take his place.
2. Connor McDavid can’t yet turn water into wine, but inadvertent deflections on a goalie in questionable position are part of his hockey inventory
ICYMI… just kidding, we know you didn’t miss it. @cmcdavid97 scores first @NHL goal, gives #Oilers equalizer. https://t.co/iCXPLOtW3m
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 14, 2015
It all seemed so fitting for a time given how well Dallas could fail spectacularly last season. Dallas was up 2-0. What better way to crash and burn and remind everyone of your team’s psychological frailty than to be undone by the hot rookie from a winless team?
While it was an odd deflection, the words “odd deflection” shouldn’t be in a goalie’s vocabulary to begin with. Kari thankfully made up for this goal, but it felt a little soft given how much space was left open. This wasn’t a turning point in the game (Dallas was in full control), but it gets to be a soundbite for hockey media now that McDavid can finally make up some ground on Jack Eichel and Mattias Janmark (!).
To be fair to McDavid, he had the second best possession metrics on his team. And he generated a lot of chances on his own. He’ll get there, much to the chagrin of the Western Conference.
3. Freudian Shots
Last year that sequence is 3-2 Oilers
— Josh Lile (@JoshL1220) October 14, 2015
The cynics will argue that it’s Edmonton #sowhat. The cynics aren’t wrong. We’re not that far removed from the game in Denver, after all. But it’s worth noting all the same. Dallas ended up tallying 70 shot attempts to Edmonton’s 40; only 11 less shot attempts than those St. Louis and Nashville amassed combined. All the numbers say is what you suspect; Dallas responded well to a really bad game. Whether or not adding so many Stanley Cup rings and veteraniness is anyone’s guess, but it certainly won’t hurt.
4. If Dallas lost, they’d still have this chart to marvel at
Many of the Stars’ shots have come from high-danger areas. Jason Spezza’s first goal of the year was not one of them. pic.twitter.com/efCJEuughh
— WAR On Ice (@war_on_ice) October 14, 2015
It was nice to see Sharp expand on the chemistry he appeared to have with Seguin. It’s apparently still there. At least a few of those high danger areas were occupied by Sharp. Jonathan Willis tweeted a more detailed list of Dallas’ onslaught.
5. No rubber duckies for Spezza. Just hats.
FIRST HAT TRICK OF THE SEASON & HIS FIRST 3 GOALS OF THE SEASON FOR JASON SPEZZA YA LETS GO pic.twitter.com/Gh1r6cTd4K
— becca:): (@rebeccaxlazenby) October 14, 2015
I always felt like Spezza was a solid well rounded player for Dallas last season even during his cold stretches. I’m not sure how I feel about Spezza prying Hemsky from Janmark, but with Hemsky looking like his Oil days, I’m fine with them rekindling the brief chemistry they had in Ottawa.
6. I know Stars fans are celebrating, and I’ma let you finish but the Murder Death Kill division Edmonton ain’t!
By contrast, the (7 team) Central has played 20 games. 15-5, +23, every team’s goal differential a positive, every tm above .500 but 1-1 CO.
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) October 14, 2015
Alas, the bad news.
Dallas has a tough game against Tampa Bay coming up, and they’re still stuck in the Central. Unfortunately, merely decent teams like Winnipeg decided to dress players like Nikolaj Ehlers and Nicolas Petan instead of plugs. If Dallas lets the variance gods influence play against Tampa and Chicago like they did against Edmonton, very few praises are being sung.
It’s clear that Dallas is still rough around the edges. The goaltending looks skittish. Janmark and Hemsky are the most consistent players, and there’s still concern about whether or not they can maintain the lead. But it’s only a matter of time before Tyler Seguin and Co. start finding their groove. It helps that Jordie Benn’s Corsi juju appears to be rubbing off on Jyrki Jokipakka. A lot of questions remain, but at least Dallas doesn’t have to be the butt of an NHL.com McDavid pun for one night.