FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Stars just defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in a tight, defensive, seven-game series in the Western Conference First Round. Coach Pete DeBoer said he wasn’t worried about individual offensive production. All that mattered was winning.
Well, now the Stars are playing the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. After a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 at home Tuesday, DeBoer pointed out that Colorado’s top players were all over the score sheet and said, “Some of our scoring has to step up.”
Game 2 is here Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360, SN, TVAS).
“I think this series is a little bit different,” DeBoer said at the Stars’ practice facility Wednesday, “and I think there’s responsibility on our forward group to be more of a difference-maker in this series and take some pressure off our [defense].”
Forward Joe Pavelski agreed.
“A hundred percent,” Pavelski said. “All in on that.”
Colorado was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.68 goals per game) and entered Wednesday as the highest-scoring team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (5.33). The Avalanche are loaded with firepower, from defenseman Cale Makar to forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin.
As much as the Stars want to slow them down, the reality is that they might have to keep up with them to some extent.
“We got through [the first round] as a group for sure, but if you’re looking to do that every round, it gets tough,” Pavelski said. “So [we’ve got to] find our game a little bit better and have some success.
“At the end of the day, it’s still going to come down to [the fact that] you need to win one-goal games. They’re going to be tight. You’ve got to defend. There’s going to be 2-1, 3-2 games. But you get your chance, you’ve got to stick it in the net.”
Dallas ranked third offensively in the regular season (3.59 goals per game) but entered Wednesday 11th in the playoffs (2.38), seventh among the eight remaining teams.
Some of the Stars’ scorers are struggling. In general, Pavelski and center Roope Hintz need to generate more, while forwards like Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Logan Stankoven are generating chances but need to finish.
“I think there’s definitely some guys that go in different categories there, for sure,” DeBoer said.
No one has scored more playoff goals than Pavelski has since he entered the NHL in 2006-07. He has 73 goals in 190 games, including nine in 14 when the Stars went to the conference final last season.
He had 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 82 games in the regular season, second on the Stars. But the 39-year-old has no goals, one assist and six shots in eight playoff games. He said it is on him to figure it out even if opponents are taking away, say, the front of the net, where he is elite at deflecting pucks.
“It definitely felt like I was moving better last game, but now that has to translate to more opportunities around the net and getting there,” he said. “They can do as good a job as they want. You’re not going to just throw the towel in and say, ‘Good job.’ You’re going to keep working for that loose puck and try to find some space, and there’s a little space out there, I think.”
Hintz had 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 playoff games last season, leading Dallas in goals and points. He had 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 80 games in the regular season, tied for third on the Stars with forwards Wyatt Johnston, who had 32 goals and 33 assists in 82 games, and Duchene, who had 25 goals and 40 assists in 80 games.
But Hintz has one empty-net goal and 10 shots in eight playoff games. He doesn’t look like himself.
“A lot of times you don’t know the whole story, and I’m not going to give you the whole story,” DeBoer said. “But what I will say is, he’s not alone in that boat. I mean, the strength of our team all year has been, if Roope Hintz’s line doesn’t score, then Matt Duchene’s line scores. If Matt Duchene’s line doesn’t score, then Wyatt Johnston’s line scores. If none of those guys score, our fourth line scores. This isn’t on Roope Hintz. Our depth has to show up in this series.”
Duchene has three points (one goal, two assists) and 10 shots in eight playoff games.
Seguin had 52 points (25 goals, 27 assists) in 68 regular-season games, but he has no goals and three assists in eight playoff games, though he has 25 shots. That’s second on the Stars behind Johnston (29), who leads them in goals (five) and points (eight).
Stankoven had five goals in six games after he was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Feb. 24 but one goal in his next 18 regular-season games. He has no goals, two assists and 16 shots in eight playoff games.
The Stars can’t cheat for offense. If they do, the Avalanche could make them pay, and the situation could get worse.
“At the end of the day, you don’t want your [offensive] game to take away from other areas,” Pavelski said. “You’ve got to compete. You’ve got to do it the right way, because it sets up the defensive side of the game, sets up other guys’ chances.
“It’s not one guy. We’re not looking at [it like], ‘It’s all on this guy.’ We’re all in this together and [need to] play a certain way and play hard. From there, things will work [themselves] out.”
