How the Stars can carry momentum into Game 3 - NHL.com

Resilience has become a cornerstone for the Dallas Stars this year.

They owned the 6th best record following a loss during the regular season at 22-9-4. Their first time losing three straight contests? Game 51. Strategies, lineups and game plans adapted on a routine basis. And when the season wrapped up, they were the only NHL team in the top 10 for points percentage, goals per game, goals against per game, power play and penalty kill.

There's a unique balance to this Stars team, and it seems to have followed them into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After another narrow Game 1 overtime loss on Tuesday against Seattle, the pressure was on for Dallas to mount a comeback and draw even. And all that hadn't gone as expected or desired in Game 1 was quickly put back in order.

The Stars went from a four-goal scorer in Joe Pavelski on Tuesday to goals from four different players on Thursday. Jake Oettinger stopped 25 of 27 shots and boosted his record after losses to 20-1-3 this year.

Dallas scored first and stayed out in front. The shots on goal differential flipped from -9 to +10. They struck on the power play for the first time in the series. They set the tone for the majority of the game. It all added up to a confident 4-2 win, and the Stars are still one of only four teams in this year's playoffs without consecutive losses.

Once again, resilience triumphed over pressure.

But amidst all of the excitement and adrenaline, there was a need for perspective, and the youngest participant in this year's playoffs summed it up perfectly.

"For me, I just try to do my best to stay neutral and not get too high or too low," Wyatt Johnston said following the Game 2 win. "Just stay neutral and not really focusing on the past or future. Just kind of staying in the moment helps a lot with staying calm and not getting ahead of yourself."

Video: Oettinger and Johnston on the response game

On the heels of his first career multi-point playoff game, the 19-year-old took a balanced approach. Johnston has two goals in his past three games and seems to be finding a groove in his first taste of some Stanley Cup Playoff action.

And yet, he's focused on what is in front of him. It's an astute mindset that the entire team can adopt as the series shifts to Seattle for Games 3 and 4.

The First Round Series against the Wild should serve as a reminder to the team of what to avoid. After responding to an overtime loss in Game 1 with a dominant 7-3 victory in Game 2, Dallas headed to St. Paul with a chance to take momentum. Instead, they were met with a 5-1 loss in a game they never really settled into.

"You try and learn from last series," Colin Miller said." I think going into Game 3, we didn't have our best stuff. We have an opportunity here to try and change that moving forward. We have to be sharp."

Video: Colin Miller on carrying the momentum forward

And that leads us to Sunday night and an opportunity for both teams to re-write the series script. The winner could very well be whichever team finds a way to remain even keeled.

Dallas and Seattle have already grappled with fits of adversity this postseason. Both faced a 2-1 hole in the First Round. Both closed out their respective series on the road. Both have overcome injuries to key players, including Joe Pavelski and Jared McCann. But neither have let pressure get the best of them.

As a result, both now have a chance to tighten their grip on the series on Sunday.

The Stars have performed well this series, winning a staggering 63.4 percent of the faceoffs, the highest mark by any team in a series this year. The penalty kill is a perfect 4-for-4. The power play has scored a game-winning goal. In Game 2 alone, 16 of 18 players had a shot on goal.

The signs of dominance are there, but all that matters now is their mindset, something they have been successful at molding.

"This time of year, [the mindset] is what it's all about," Oettinger said following Game 2. "The great teams that have won it all, their records are always crazy after losses. They brush themselves off, they take the good and learn from the bad and forget it quickly.

"These series are long and every game is huge. That's what it's all about, the response, and we've been great at that."

Through the highs and lows of the season, the Stars have kept a steady hand. They have overcome trials and leaned into their strengths during critical moments. But after responding to pressure in Game 2, the new focus involves keeping a level head and their foot on the gas.

"I think every game is important throughout a series," Miller said. "A few momentum swings can be big in a series, so we're just trying to put our best foot forward every night and see what happens."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

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2023-05-07 10:52:42Z
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