Can the Dallas Stars even series vs Seattle Kraken in Game 2?

Game 1 between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken was a high-scoring thriller. Stars forward Joe Pavelski scored four goals, but the Kraken ultimately got the win in overtime. What will these two teams have in store for us in Game 2?

Surely, there won’t be as many goals scored in the second contest. I mean, Seattle’s four-goal period was the highest-scoring period by any team so far in these playoffs. Plus, Jake Oettinger and Philipp Grubauer, based on their first-round performances, will definitely bounce back.

While the number of goals will most likely come down, that may be the extent of the noticeable changes. If you think back to round one, this is the exact position in which both teams found themselves.

Can the Stars make this a 1-1 series?

Dallas, at home against the Minnesota Wild, dropped Game 1 in double overtime. They, of course, won four of the next five games. As for Seattle, it stole Game 1 on the road against the Colorado Avalanche and wound up winning in seven games.

There should be no panic or knee-jerk adjustments for either team after their first meeting. I would expect a level of comfort and confidence, as both have succeeded from their respective positions once before.

With all of that said, this is an important game for the Stars to win. Confident or not, no team wants to go down 2-0 at home and then have to get back on track on the road.

Traffic in front of the net was a key in Game 1, so it will be interesting to see how each club deals with that.

Dallas would love for Pavelski to score another four goals, but the Kraken will likely have some type of answer for him, and the Stars will accordingly need to address the Seattle skaters in front of Grubauer.

The Stars need to have answers in their own zone beyond just players near the crease as well. Seattle possessed the puck well on Tuesday night, and they were impressive on the forecheck. As part of that, the Kraken outhit the Stars 47-19 and took the puck away 11 times.

Dallas is a veteran team, so they’ll surely come ready to play in Game 2. Look for a fast start and power play goals (the teams were a combined 0-for-5 in Game 1) to be among other keys on Thursday night.

Game 2 of this Western Conference Semifinal series begins at 9:30 PM on Thursday, May 4 and can be seen on TNT.