Dallas Needs to Get Back to First Things

And don't we all?

Dallas is trailing 2-1 in the Western Conference Final. Sure, that’s a heck of lot better than trailing 2-0, like they were in the first round last year against Vegas. And it’s also far preferable to trailing 3-2, where your margin for error is completely gone, which means you can have an all-out Game 6 shot-fest against the Oilers like Dallas did last year, only to fail to solve Stuart Skinner more than one time in 60 minutes. Sound familiar?

Still, trailing 2-1 in a series is still a fairly dire position to be in. That’s what Edmonton sensed last year, when they went from having allowed Dallas 10 goals in the first three games to tossing the entire Stars offense in jail for the next three contests, over which Dallas scored just four goals combined as their Stanley Cup run evaporated in three successive losses.

With all but four teams playing golf right now, every loss by every team is scrutinized by everybody in order to predict the rest of the series. Everyone is already writing their Stanley Cup Final Rematch Preview stories because Edmonton Is Good and Florida Runs the East, and Dallas Only Got Lucky In Game 1, which is to say that when Edmonton committed penalties in Game 1, they were actually called. But this is the playoffs, and you can’t wait for apologies if you want to get your names etched in silver. Quick whistles and missed calls are going to happen to any team on any given night, and you have to brush those things aside before the next game starts.

Anyway, because of the harsh spotlights right now, you’ve heard a ton about how Dallas’s offense has dried up, how the Oilers are just too deep to stop this year, and how Stuart Skinner enters the Avatar state the moment he gets into the crease.

Additionally, we’ve all talked for two games now about Matt Duchene, Wyatt Johnston¹, Jake Oettinger, and Thomas Harley need to Get Going, Really. Yes, it’s no secret that the good players have to play good if you want to win in May (let alone June), and Edmonton’s good players have shown up through three games. But when your team has scored just one goal in the past 120 minutes, there is nowhere to hide.

Dallas, however, can reboot the entire narrative computer Tuesday night with a win of almost any kind. With a victory to tie the series 2-2, they’ll have home ice advantage again. Suddenly, Skinner won’t look so unbeatable, and suddenly you’ll remember how you feel after every playoff win, when hope’s reflection shines with vindication rather than foolishness.

We’re not interested in narratives right now, though. Because there’s a really simple thing that Dallas needs to do if they want to get back on track. In fact, I believe it might well be the most crucial determining factor in every game they play from here on out. It’s a revolutionary idea that nobody else has ever thought of, too. Are you ready for this? There’s a chart down below and everything, so you know it must be important.