Oilers not happy with lack of power plays in loss to Stars
The Edmonton Oilers will return to Rogers Place with their Western Conference Final series tied after a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 2.
It was another defensive battle as both teams weren’t allowing many good looks at the net, but in the end, it was a deflected shot off the stick of Stars forward Mason Marchment that wound up being the difference.
Edmonton only got two chances on the PP in this one, with one of those coming in the dying minutes. When asked after the game about this, captain Connor McDavid had a short response.
“That’s a good question, I don’t know… that’s a good question,” McDavid said in response to why the penalties have been so difficult to draw.
TIP DRILL FOR MASON MARCHMENT! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/2buj7GrUAZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 26, 2024
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch echoed this sentiment, tip-toeing around the officiating question.
“The NHL, sometimes the standard gets changed a little bit,” Knoblauch said. “That’s obviously unfortunate to us, we got a very good power play and we win a lot of games on the power play.
“It’s unfortunate to us that it’s tougher to draw penalties in the playoffs than it is in the regular season.”
Connor Brown scored the only Oilers goal in the first period. It was a game that the Stars had to wrangle back momentum from to win. Dallas captain Jamie Benn opened the scoring in the first period, but Connor Brown responded quickly with his first of the playoffs.
The Oilers held an incredible 16-4 advantage in shots after the first period. The Stars came back to outshoot Edmonton in the final 40 minutes by a 21-13 margin.
Third line troubles
Third-line troubles are starting to creep up on the Oilers.
It was another game where the trio of Warren Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Derek Ryan were not effective at either end of the ice. That line was responsible for not clearing the zone on Marchment’s game-winner in the third period and failed to put up anything offensively.
This lack of production showed tonight as the Stars had a much better game and showed off their incredible depth with a few long shifts in the Oilers zone. Adam Henrique is expected to return to the Edmonton lineup in time for Game 3 which should allow a few pieces to be mixed around.
When your fourth line is outscoring your third line, there have to be some changes.
Brown on the board
The bad news tonight was that the Oilers were only able to score a single time tonight, the good news is that it was off the stick of Brown.
Edmonton’s premier offseason addition has not had the year that everyone expected. He was supposed to be a mainstay in the team’s top six but has now found himself as a consistent member of the fourth line in the postseason. That being said, it’s gotta feel good to get on the board in the playoffs.
“It’s nice to contribute offensively five-on-five,” Brown told reporters after the game. “Feel like my process, my game has been good since stepping into the lineup… It’s always fun to score.”
CONNOR FREAKING BROWN! WE'RE TIED ONCE AGAIN pic.twitter.com/Obq9JH3tNr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 26, 2024
Even with Henrique expected to come back into the lineup soon, it will be difficult to break up that line with Brown alongside Mattias Janmark and Sam Carrick.
A long series
As disappointing as the loss will be for the Oilers and their fans, it really shouldn’t.
While it certainly would have been nice, did anybody expect the Oilers to sweep the Stars in this series? This is perhaps the most evenly-matched series between two top teams in the entire playoffs and Dallas was due for a much better performance than their double-OT loss in Game 1.
“We’re in the Western Conference Final now, it’s gonna be tight, it’s gonna be hard, it’s supposed to be this way,” Mattias Ekholm said after the game. “It’s going to be a tactical match but, at the same time, you just gotta make sure you are on the winning side of it.
“We got in here, we got our split, we feel good about that.”
The Oilers have been facing adversity all season long and into the playoffs. They fell behind in their series against the Vancouver Canucks three separate times in the second round and getting back to Edmonton tied at 1-1 should be seen as an opportunity.
Edmonton will get another chance to regain the series lead when Game 3 comes back to the Alberta capital on Monday night
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