Fans of the Stars said that yesterday night’s game seemed quite familiar. The Stars’ first postseason away game at the Xcel Energy Center was essentially a mirror image of game 3. They were off to the races with just one goal from the Kraken. After Miro Heiskanen was injured from a puck to the face, the Dallas Stars went on to lose 7-2 to the Kraken.
I don’t know what happened to Jake Oettinger last night, but it was obvious he was very upset following Heiskanen’s injury. For the first time in his career, Oettinger played poorly in a playoff game. The Star lost last night in Seattle because he was unable to follow the puck on the rink.
That was also a result of the defense, although the Kraken scored so many goals that Otter easily could have stopped them. He didn’t give his best performance here. Let’s look back and see if there are even three lessons to be learned from last night’s 7-2 defeat in Seattle.
Seattle Kraken vs. Dallas Stars Recap: 2. After Miro was killed, the squad vanished
I’m not sure why the Stars keep playing when a teammate is hurt. When Joe Pavelski was injured in game 1 against the Wild, the same thing occurred. After Heiskanen passed away last night and the Kraken unleashed their wrath and blitzed the Stars, the team essentially behaved as though they were at a funeral. Go out there and win it for your squad, for goodness’ sake. While receiving stitches in the locker room, I’m sure he was not pleased to hear the Kraken’s goal horn.
Seattle Kraken vs. Dallas Stars Recap: 1. Only your response counts
The Stars’ only option at this point is to continue to game 4 and attempt to split the games in Seattle. Heiskanen should be able to play in game 4 on Tuesday night. The Stars must strike back with a vengeance and tie this series again with the Kraken at two games each. The squad certainly doesn’t want to be in danger of losing when they return to Dallas for game 5 on Thursday night.
