The Western Conference Final features two of the better teams in the Western Conference as the Dallas Stars took on the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas has been one of the favourites to win the Stanley Cup all season long because of their roster depth. Their ability to roll four lines makes them so good. On the other hand, while Dallas is mentioned as a Stanley Cup contender, they are always the forgotten team. However, the Stars are continuing to play their style and are showing why they put together a team that can win.
Many thought coming into Game 1 that this series was going to be high-scoring because of all the offence that is on the ice. Think again, as Game 1 was a low-scoring affair dominated by the Dallas Stars defence. Considering the way the Stars were scoring goals, who would have thought Dallas could play lockdown defence?
Dallas Stars Defence Shines in Game 1
Neutral Zone Trap
Call it boring. Call it old fashioned. Call it whatever you want, but give credit to the Dallas Stars’ defence for locking down the neutral zone and smothering the Golden Knights at every turn. Give credit to the Stars for taking a system that was called boring and utilizing it to their advantage. Once John Klingberg scored 2:36 into the first period, the Stars’ defence took over. Dallas just did not allow Vegas to get their offence going. Rick Bowness knew the only way to shut down a speed team like Vegas was to implore a neutral zone trap.
Dallas is a good defensive team to begin with, but during these playoffs, it has been their offence that has been carrying them. But in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, as the old saying goes, defence wins championships. Good on the Stars for taking a page out of other teams’ playbooks. We have seen during the playoffs the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers all use the neutral zone trap to their advantage. The Stars are no different. Dallas was able to make sure the Golden Knights were not able to use that stretch pass through the middle of the ice and set up shop in Dallas’s defensive zone.
It is just not the defensive players buying into the system. You need your offensive players to buy into the system as well. That is the only way the neutral zone trap works. Having short shifts keeps everyone fresh out on the ice to run the system to perfection. Vegas is in real trouble if they can’t find a way to break it.
Offence From Defence
The Dallas Stars continue to get offence from their defence. While all of the attention is on Miro Heiskanen, it was Klingberg who stepped up in Game 1 to score the game-winner. From the beginning of the playoffs, everything has started from the backend out for the Stars. That is a credit to the skill that is on the Dallas Stars defence. But it is just not Heiskanen and Klingberg. Esa Lindell and Jamie Oleksiak are contributing to the offensive punch. With all that skill on defence, the Stars are able to transition from defence to offence quickly as they do not have to spend too much time in their own zone.
And once in the offensive zone, the Stars defencemen control the play from the point. Their ability to move the puck around the offensive zone opens opportunities for others. Because now the Golden Knights can’t just worry about Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov and the rest of the Stars offensive players. They have to also defend the Stars’ defencemen jumping into the play. That just wears on a team for 60 minutes. And it showed late in Game 1. Heading into Game 2, the Golden Knights need to find a better way of controlling the game from the beginning.
Goaltenders Stand Tall
Heading into Game 1, everyone expected to see Anton Khudobin for Dallas and Robin Lehner for Vegas. But Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer decided to go with Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury had not seen action since Game 4 of their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks. After a rocky start where Fleury gave up a goal on the first shot he saw, he settled down nicely as he stopped 24 of 25 shots. Fleury did not play bad for Vegas and gave his team a chance to win Game 1. But there was nothing more than Fleury could do. The Golden Knights offence did not show up.
Meanwhile, Anton Khudobin continues his fabulous run in the playoffs for Dallas. He recorded his first career playoff shutout stopping all 25 shots he faced including all 13 in the third period. Khudobin showed poise under pressure, especially in the third period. The Stars have confidence in Khudobin’s ability to get the job done. This is Khudobin’s net now and the Stars will ride him until they get eliminated or hoist the Stanley Cup.
What This Means
Like with any series, Game 1 is so crucial. The Dallas Stars were able to grab the upper hand. Thanks in large part to their defence and goaltending. Give credit where credit is due – the Stars continue to get the job done without any fanfare surrounding them. The Stars continue to adjust their style of play to fit the opponent they are playing. Vegas continues to find out that it only gets harder as the playoffs progress. Everyone continues to doubt the Stars but they continue to prove people wrong. If Dallas continues this style they will wear out the Vegas Golden Knights. One thing to worry about in Vegas is their inability to score recently. They need to get out of their own heads as the series continues.
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