The dream of a Texas two-step with the NBA Finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Final at the American Airlines Center is over.
The team that had the best chance to reach their final flamed out again. The Dallas Stars out-played the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, and lost both the game and the series.
On Sunday night in Edmonton, the Oilers took what limited chances they had and converted them into goals en route to a 2-1 win over the Stars. The Oilers finished with 10 shots to 35 for the Stars.
The Oilers will play the Florida Panthers for the Stanley Cup, and the Stars will head home. The Stars remain the NHL’s best “Next Year’s Stanley Cup Champ’.”
Since 2020, the Stars have been to the Western Conference Finals three times, and the Stanley Cup Finals once; they have lost in Game 6 of all three of those appearances. Every time the Stars have been so good, and their best is so not good enough.
They were not better in the “Edmonton Bubble” in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, against Tampa Bay.
They were not better in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, against Las Vegas.
They were not better in the 2024 Western Conference Finals, against Edmonton.
The Stars had a 2-1 series lead, and then all of it changed. The Stars stopped scoring, they had no answer for Oilers forward Connor McDavid, and the series was decided on special teams.
CONNOR MCDAVID OPENS THE SCORING IN GAME 6! pic.twitter.com/mDrCZxIeK4
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 3, 2024
The Stars were 0-for-14 on the power play in the series; the Oilers scored two power play goals in each of the last two games.
After scoring two goals in the first six minutes of Game 4, the Stars were out-scored 10-2. Their lone goal in Game 6 came with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in third period; it looked like the Stars might actually score a tying goal in the dying minutes.
Didn’t happen, the Stars season is dead, and this team has to get real about some people. The Stars are doing so many things right, and are missing something.
The Stars have a solid nucleus of young players in Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, Roope Hintz and Logan Stankoven.
They have a lot of older players, and a blue line that needs help.
It’s hard to see any scenario where veteran forward Joe Pavelski returns. The de facto captain is 39, and for the third straight year he produced so much more than a man his age should. In the history of free agent signees in DFW area sports, he is one of the best.
In the final weeks of the regular season, and these playoffs, however, age looked like it finally got him.
This camera shot kills me. #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/xhahiqAjI1
— Joey Hayden (@_joeyhayden) June 3, 2024
In Game 6, he was one of the best players on the ice, and it wasn’t enough. One of the best American-born hockey players ever, he has done everything but win a Stanley Cup.
The issues with veterans Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Ryan Suter are the same today as they were this time one year ago. They’re older, each a case of diminishing returns against their contracts.
Benn, 34, has one year remaining on his deal, and he’s coming back. He had a good regular season, but in the playoffs, especially against Edmonton’s speed, his age showed.
The only reason the Stars would deal him is if, for some terrible reason, next season is going awful and they move him to a contender that wants a third-line veteran.
Seguin, 32, has two years remaining on his contract. The Stars can’t move him.
Suter, 39, has one year remaining on his contract. The only reason the Stars will bring him back is the contract, and they have no other viable option on the blue line to push him out.
After a decent regular season, Suter again had too many bad moments in the playoffs. He looked over-matched against Edmonton.
As much success the Stars have had in finding, and developing, young forwards, doing the same for their blue line remains an issue. Other than Heiskanen, they have not been able to find some decent, reliable options to put next to him.
By every single metric the Stars were one of the best teams in the NHL for the second consecutive year. They finished with the most points in the Western Conference this season, and defeated the last two Stanley Cup champions in these playoffs to reach the third round.
They had the talent to beat the Oilers, but were out-played. This result is not a fluke, or an accident.
The 2023-’24 Dallas Stars had the team to be this year’s champ’, but instead retained their “Next Year’s Champ’” trophy.
