Playoff Preview: Seattle Kraken vs Dallas Stars
The Kraken upset the defending cup champions... can they upset the Stars now?
Jake Oettinger carried the Stars into round 2. That much is obviously known, and he has been the best goalie of the first round. He put up a 4.3 GSAx with a .929, and he outmatched Filip Gustavsson, who tried his best to bolster the Wild into round 2. Oettinger's numbers are incredible also when you take into account that he had a rough game 2 that definitely made his numbers a lot worse. The Wild played better in most senses of the word, but I said before this series that Oettinger would be the difference, and he was. But, he was not the only one who stepped up. Roope Hintz had an incredible series, putting up 5 goals and 2 points per game. Hintz provided much of the spark on this relatively anemic looking Stars offense at points. Still though, this team is dangerous. Another difference maker comes at the blue line, with Miro Heiskenan. Heiskanen had an incredible series on both sides of the ice and, despite the fact he is without a goal so far, has looked absolutely dominant any time he is on the ice. Dallas' strong point will be their ability to stay strong defensively, and having an anchor like Heiskenan helps.
Dallas also will likely be seeing the return of Joe Pavelski and Max Domi, who will both be HUGE in their fight to get to the west finals. Pavelski of course was injured in game 1, while Domi has been hurt for a while now. Their return is imperative in finding success against the Kraken, and they could really bring a nice spark on the 2nd or 3rd lines when the Stars might desparately need it.
The Kraken, in their 7 game victory over Colorado, had probably one of the best depth showing I have ever watched in the playoffs. 15 different skaters got a goal, and no player got more than 2 goals. With this depth, there's no clear weakness the Kraken showed, and especially so if Jared McCann returns and he and Matty Beniers play at the star level they did in the regular season. Their skater core is not an issue and shouldn't be expected to be an issue, so I am not worried about it. In goal, Philip Grubauer had an incredible series, with a 2.9 GSAx and a .926. After what was a shaky season, he steadied the ship and made this Kraken team look like an absolute contender. To win against Dallas, they need him to match or play not that much worse than Jake Oettinger. If he has another great series, this underdog Kraken team could be finding themselves in the Western Conference Finals.
Overall, these teams are actually more evenly matched than expected. They both played solidly against their round one opponents and won because of great goaltending. The winner of this series will need to rely on similarly great goaltending, as neither offensive is truly dynamic enough that a goalie could simply not steal a series. And both of these goalies are capable of stealing this series.
Prediction: Stars in 7
Season Series: 1-1-1
Look, this series is going to be just as electrifying as the round one series that preceded them. The Stars simply just have a slight edge over the Kraken in each facets of the game, but do not be shocked if the Kraken win this series. It could easily go either way, and it will almost certainly come down to Grubauer vs Oettinger. And simply put, I think Oettinger is the more reliable playoff goaltender. We shall see if that holds up, and I am excited to watch this round two matchup.
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