3 reasons the Dallas Stars didn't win the Stanley Cup
The Dallas Stars are not Stanley Cup champions. The Edmonton Oilers took them out.
The Edmonton Oilers are going to the Stanley Cup Final. They got there by taking down the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Conference Finals. A lot of people assumed that the Stars would win this series with ease but the Oilers got it done in six games.
The Dallas Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL and deserve their praise. They dominated a lot of their matchups so far in the playoffs after having a wonderful regular season.
Now, the Stars will head into the off-season wondering what it will take for them to get over the hump. They’ll try and make the right changes that allow them to finally win after coming so close so many times.
These are the three biggest reasons that they won’t be winning the Stanley Cup this year:
Joe Pavelski was not himself during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Joe Pavelski has been a wonderful player for the Dallas Stars. Since coming over from the San Jose Sharks, he made a major impact on this organization as well.
During the regular season, he had 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 82 games played. That is right around where you'd expect Pavelski to be based on his career. At 39 years old, it was a great season for him.
He is a month away from turning 40 and he still put out a great season. However, the playoffs didn't go the way that he would have hoped. In 19 playoff games this season, he had just one goal and three assists for four points.
All four of his points came in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. He didn't have a single point in the first round against the Vegas Golden Knights or this most recent series against the Edmonton Oilers.
Game six was probably Pavelski's last NHL game ever which would be the end of a wonderful career. However, if the Dallas Stars had a more productive version of him (or someone else) in these playoffs, they might be going to the final instead of Edmonton.
The Edmonton Oilers won the Special Teams battle over the Dallas Stars
The Edmonton Oilers have been winning special teams battles against everyone they've played so far in the playoffs.
Their power play and penalty kill have been dominant since the postseason began and they are in the Stanley Cup Final as a result.
The Oilers have the top power play in the playoffs as they are clicking at a 37.3 percent rate. They also have the best PK in the playoffs as they have killed off 93.9 percent of the penalties that they've taken. It has been a remarkable run.
Edmonton was able to avoid giving up a single power-play goal to the Dallas Stars. They were perfect throughout the six games. That is the second series that they did this. The Oilers also scored a short-handed goal in this series which helped as well.
They didn't give up a single power-play goal to the Los Angeles Kings either. Vancouver Canucks did manage to score on the PP.
On their power play, it took them a minute to get going as the Stars' PK was good early but they ended up with four power-play goals in the series. They all came in games five and six which is what allowed the Oilers to win the series after being tied through four games.
If the Stars want to win a Stanley Cup, they have to find a way to improve their special teams units over the summer.
Connor McDavid has his way with the Dallas Stars in this series
You can't stop Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. You can only try to slow him down. McDavid hasn't won a Stanley Cup yet so teams have figured out how to slow him down just enough to beat the Oilers in a series but nobody has been able to yet this season.
In this series against the Stars, McDavid was able to have his typical dominant performance. The Stars mostly had no answer for him.
In the first game of the series, McDavid had one goal and one assist in a win. In the second game, he had zero points as the Stars completely shut him down.
Nobody bounces back from a tough game better than Connor McDavid. That would be his last pointless game of the series and he finished it with 10 total points (3-7--10) in six games.
Leon Draisaitl (who also had a great series) was leading the playoffs in scoring when this series started. However, McDavid's huge series now has him as the playoff-scoring leader with 31 points.
Dallas's inability to shut McDavid down is a big reason that they couldn't get it done in this series. Now, the Oilers will move on instead of the Stars to face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
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