We made it! Strange Game 7 as we were absolutely perfect for 55 minutes and then crumbled a bit to make it close. Our last two games against the Vancouver Canucks were great performances from our Edmonton Oilers. Now we have the Dallas Stars who have already taken out the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche (the last two Cup champs). They are impressive. Take a look at our roundtable discussion.
Who were your key players to our win over the Nucks?
Sean: For that series, my top three players are: Evan Bouchard, two game winning goals and eleven points in the series to go along with some of the best defensive hockey he has played in his career thus far and averaging around 26 minutes of ice time per game in the series.
Calvin Pickard, he came in in a crucial moment to give the Oilers some stability in net and stepped up in more ways than we can ever give him credit for. I would go so far as to say he saved the series by giving Stuart Skinner a two-game break to reset. Playing well enough to win both games, although the team in front of him did not help in the second.
Dylan Holloway, although he may not be finding the scoresheet as often as one would want from a key player in a series with just one goal and barely averaging over 10 minutes of ice time per game, he is out there making a positive and noticeable impact on nearly every shift. Specifically his performance in the final two games where his relentless forecheck, responsible well-rounded play, and signs of a very high hockey IQ had him as one of the only Oilers who was able to create sustained offensive zone time in the stressful third period of game seven. I mostly just want to give him a shoutout here as I notice and appreciate his style of play.
Faiz: Cody Ceci—I mean that’s two Game 7s where he has scored the first goal, so clearly he is a big game player! Seriously though, I would say Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, Leon Draisaitl, and Holloway were the major factors. Bouchard’s goal was huge for momentum, and I thought he played a fairly good, safe game for the most part. Nurse was a beast on the PK, especially in the four-minute kill to end the first, and seemed to play really calm instead of running around. Draisaitl was money in the defensive zone, and Holloway seemed to be the only player who could sustain offensive pressure in the third period.
Czechboy: We have a three-headed monster. McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard. They were unbelievable. Bouchard, who does not get the respect he deserves, just set a record of 20 points in first rounds. This has NEVER been done before. He’s also second overall (to Cale Makar) in playoff points in the last three playoffs (his rookie year to today). Draisaitl is the very definition of clutch. McDavid is burning down villages. Those three were masterful. We’ll need more from other players to beat Dallas though!
Greg: Naturally a Game 7 win is a group effort. McDavid, Draisaitl, and frankly Bouchard are always leading the charge. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman, and Ceci scored big goals. Holloway continues to emerge. To highlight someone less obvious, the depth deserves some credit. Grinders like Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark played some of their better games of the season, for example.
Erling: For me the biggest key player was Bouchard, which is not such a surprise. Every Stanley Cup winning team has an All-Star defenceman leading the way on the back end, and even though Bouchard had an All-Star season, it didn’t feel like he had fully embraced the role of THAT guy till the playoffs, particularly the series against the Canucks. With four goals, 11 points, in this past series, as well as 2.3 goals above expected in the playoffs as a whole. These are dominant stats but by the eye test alone it felt like he found another gear.
How do you feel about our next opponent, Dallas?
Greg: The Stars are a strong team, requisite for a third-round appearance. With a great mix of talent, youth, and experience, the Stars are worthy of confidence. The Stars were among the favourites to win it all at the trade deadline, and have lived up to expectations in defeating the last two Stanley Cup champions to reach this point. Quite simply, there is nothing not to like about the Stars as a team.
Czechboy: Absolutely terrified of them. In order, I felt the top three teams were Knights, Avs, and Stars. Well, the Stars just took out the Avs and Knights. They’ve been unbelievably good. They have a great goalie. They have a great D core. They have a beautiful forward group. They are built like a true Stanley Cup Champion. We have also lost to the last two Stanley Cup champions in a row. Seems the road to Stanley runs through Edmonton.
Sean: Dallas is going to be a tough opponent and if the Oilers made it this far, I was not looking forward to any of the potential matchups from out of the Central Division. Dallas has the positional advantage on defence and goaltending by far to go along with a much deeper offensive group that outmatches Edmonton’s. They have one of the strongest rosters in the entire league this season, only got better at the deadline specifically with Chris Tanev being acquired. He in particular will be a key player in this series partly because of the level to which he has elevated his play this postseason and partly due to the Oilers passing on acquiring him at the deadline.
Faiz: They scare the bleeping bleep out of me. They not only have depth across all positions, but the top of the depth are really, really good—I mean they have Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskenen, Tanev, and Jake Oettinger. They also won two of the three games against the Oilers this season. It frankly wouldn’t surprise me if this is 2022 against Colorado all over again, although this time the Oilers don’t have the injury trouble they did that year and a legitimate top defensive pairing helps too.
Erling: I’ll take this question on it’s face and say that, by feeling alone, I don’t feel good about the upcoming series against Dallas, and yet it’s probably a more encouraging feeling than when you start really looking into the match-ups and stats.
Who do you predict will win in the Stars series?
Sean: Dallas Stars in five games. The level with which Dallas has elevated their play, with a tough comeback win over the defending Stanley Cup champs in round one and adjusting quickly to take down the Colorado Avalanche in six games bodes well for them. The advantages they have in their roster and how well constructed it is leave me very concerned about Edmonton’s place in this series. With a ton of question marks around the health of the Oilers roster as Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, and Adam Henrique are injured and rumours swirl around Mattias Ekholm and even Connor McDavid being hurt, an already weak depth is stretched even more thin.
Erling: I can’t help but predict the Stars coming out of this one. It’s certainly the case that, in hockey probably more than any other sport, accurate predictions are hard to come by, but the Oilers will have their hands full with the Stars. The problem is a two headed monster labelled depth and goaltending. The Stars are the deepest team in the playoffs with three full lines that can score and a fourth that would be a third line for Edmonton. Even without Hintz they are a scary lineup. The other problem is that Jake Oettinger is .918 SV% and 2.09 GA compared to Skinner at .881 SV% and 2.87 GA. Pickard has better numbers but has only played two games thus far and I can’t see him standing up to Dallas’s eternl pressure.
Czechboy: If I were a gambler, and no shortage of gambling ads, then I pick Dallas in six. However, we are in rare air. You don’t always make Round 3. We do have a generational player and he is capable of going supernova. So my heart says Oilers in seven. I don’t expect an even series at all. Some lopsided losses are probably heading our way. However, beating us four times is not easy. We are also, currently, not missing any major roster players.
Faiz: It pains me to say it, but the Stars. Would I be surprised if the Oilers won? No, I don’t necessarily think that they are that overmatched and can certainly keep up. But I think I would have to say the Stars in six.
Greg: I had the Stars beating the Oilers in my pre-playoff bracket, and I’ll stick with it. It should be close, the Stars are favoured by most, but I don’t think the Oilers are outclassed by as much as the general public seems to think.
What is your biggest area of concern going into the Western Conference Finals?
Czechboy: I have had the same three concerns since the preseason. Nurse, Ceci, and Skinner. They have not done a single thing to not make me worry about them against a very good Dallas squad. Skinner’s 2024 playoffs and career average are around .880 SV%. He’s not clutch in playoff games. Great regular season goalie but he’s a liability in the playoffs unfortunately. Ceci is not a top-four defenceman in the playoffs at all and should’ve been replaced/upgraded (Two Game 7 goals though!). Nurse is excellent and underrated. He can be a top-four dman on a cup team but he plays with Ceci or Vincent Desharnais. He doesn’t have an “Ekholm” to make him more effective. I don’ t blame the players to be honest. I blame Ken Holland for not getting better pieces. He spent draft capital and cap money on three guys who are barely contributing.
Erling: The depth is Edmontons biggest problem. They have, by far, the lowest scoring third line left in the playoffs. The goaltlending is a probem too, however, Oettinger didn’t have a great regular season so that may be a chink in the armour that Edmontons high powered offense can exploit. In the end, so much is going to fall on McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, and Bouchard to out-score Dallas, but I just don’t see that happening.
Sean: It is going to be the depth match-up for sure. Dallas can outmatch Edmonton in almost every position. Edmonton has the advantage in high end star power, that’s about it. Dallas scoring depth will wreak havoc with the Oilers’ defensive depth as many opponents have before. Although adjustments to the defensive lines have been made, it is still questionable at times and the Stars can spread out their scoring in a way to capitalize on this.
Faiz: Goaltending. Skinner won the last two games, but he faced 15 shots in his first game back after sitting, and then 17 last game. He has had just three games above 0.900 these playoffs. That is not good enough, and Dallas again has the firepower to make him pay. This is a series where the Oilers likely need not just average goaltending but slightly above average, and Skinner really isn’t giving much hope in that department. My second biggest concern is lineups, in the sense that we just saw how wrong Nurse and Ceci really are as a pairing, as they both played sooooo soooo sooo much better apart. We’ve seen it too on the forward end, where sometimes it seems like Knoblauch tries to outthink his lines. I am worried that if the Oilers start slow, the blender comes back out when I don’t think it is needed.
Greg: The Oilers will need to win the special teams battle, more specifically to hold up on the penalty kill against a strong Stars power play. Goaltending is top of mind for many, but the team can help their netminders with a strong performance on the pk. The Stars went 4/8 on the power play against the Oilers during the regular season, which ultimately informs prediction. The Oilers will have to find a way to be better here. Luckily, they have been of late. The penalty kill has come together down the stretch, and will need to face its biggest test yet against the Stars.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
