This game was a classic example of a back-and-forth affair. Two heavyweight fighters in the Western Conference have had bad blood for the last few seasons. Ball Arena had signs all around the building promoting tonight as a divisional rivalry, accompanied by unique lighting and sound effects. It was overall a great experience watching the Stars battle. After attending the game, here are some successes the Stars had and the improvements they need to make.
Dallas Stars Ball Arena Recap: 1. Jake Oettinger
Jake Oettinger played a terrific game tonight. He kept the Stars in it the whole time, especially late in the third when every forward was exhausted. His desperation saves were exceptional, especially when effort was lacking at times. Also, he did a fantastic job fighting for positioning and standing his ground on many shots from the point. The only noticeable issue with Jake is that he tends to end up very low in his positioning when sliding to his left. I'm sure this will be something he sees and can prevent those patient patients from beating him over his head.
Dallas Stars Ball Arena Recap: 2. Forechecking
The Stars' forechecking is taking a different form with new head coach Glen Gulutzan. Several times throughout the game, the Stars struggled to clear the puck from their zone, and it ended up in the back of their net. However, there were more times tonight when they managed to turn the ice when things were looking bleak. The forecheck led to most of the Stars' offensive zone time today (which was not very much). Some of the best forechecking was done by the bottom six as well. It was great to see these guys find a way to impact the game when things weren't going the Stars' way.
Dallas Stars Ball Arena Recap: 3. Making High Danger Shots
The Stars struggled to control the puck tonight. They only had 22 shots after overtime. The ability to capitalize on high-risk opportunities was a success, as they answered every Avalanche goal with one of their own. The prime example of this was the Wyatt Johnston breakaway. When the Stars seem to lose all momentum, Wyatt blocked a shot, took it the other way, and dangled right around Wedgewood. This continued in the shootout with Robertson, Rantanen, and Oettinger bringing it home. Through two games, the Stars' best scorers have shown out when it mattered. This is a great sign, as the math indicates the depth is worse for offenses this season.
Dallas Stars Ball Arena Recap: 4. Improvements to be made
A very interesting problem for Dallas tonight was defending the backside forward on Avalanche rushes. There were at least five times the puck was passed backside to a wide-open shot. This looked to be a problem for backchecking forwards AND defensemen. This leads us right into the next point of communication.
Especially in the defensive zone, the Stars did not have their usual passing skills tonight. It seemed like the new system had changed the positioning of the outlets, sometimes positioning them forward for the defensemen. The exits from the defensive zone need to be improved. Keep in mind, this was a fantastic hockey game to watch between two spectacular teams. These are not back-breaking issues, so expect them to improve with each game under Glen Gulutzan.