If there is one player you would expect to show up during the playoffs, it is Matt Duchene. He's one of those veterans in this league who can take over a game with a couple of goals. He was one of the main scoring threats for the Stars during the regular season. He did a good job of anchoring the second line with Tyler Seguin, who was out with his injury for most of the season. However, not seeing him produce offense in the playoffs this year has been surprising.
While that assist to Wyatt Johnston on the power play during game 7 was spectacular, he hasn't found the goal sheet during the playoffs this season. The Stars need him to step it up against the Winnipeg Jets if they want to make the Western Conference Finals for a third consecutive season. He's one of the players we talked about this morning who needs to show up this afternoon after being absent during game 2 on Friday night.
It's not surprising that he hasn't shown up in the playoffs because of his age. He's at that age where hockey players learn their bodies are close to retirement. I'm not saying he plans to retire from the National Hockey League anytime soon; it reminds me of how Joe Pavelski was in the playoffs last season. I will give him some slack because Pete DeBoer has been shuffling the lines throughout the playoffs this year. That might be why he's not performing like he did last season.
The Stars need him to show up against the Winnipeg Jets this afternoon. Duchene is the player who can get the playoff scoring going with one goal. After seeing the team absent on Friday night, someone other than Mikko Rantanen must provide some goals if the Stars want to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Rantanen will not carry this team across the finish line with Jake Oettinger. Everybody needs to be getting good looks and finding the back of the net.
In conclusion, I hope Duchene can find his scoring game before the Jets take out the Stars. I don't want to see his tenure here in Dallas end because of players not chipping in on offense. The Stars don't have much salary cap after possibly re-signing Jamie Benn this offseason. The Stars can beat the Jets; it was evident when they beat the Jets in game 1 of this series. The Stars need their veterans and Duchene to show up this afternoon to get back on track.