The Dallas Stars fell to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night and now face a difficult 3-1 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals.
Dallas has struggled significantly over the last three games, getting outscored 13-2 with a 0-3 record against Edmonton.
Realistically, Dallas has been outplayed by the Oilers in 11 of the 12 total periods in this series, with the singular impressive period leading to a 6-3 win in Game 1.
The Stars have outscored the Oilers in just one period throughout this entire series, which came in the third period of Game 1 and led to the win, but there has been little success on either end outside of this stretch.
Across the totality of the series, the Stars have been outscored 16-8 and outplayed in nearly every facet of the game, as the Oilers have dominated in nearly every meaningful category to this point.
The biggest issues in the first four games of this series involve power plays, physicality, and giveaways.
Dallas has struggled heavily in this series to convert and defend against power plays, which has proven to be the biggest factor in the Oilers securing a series lead.
Outside of the first game in this series, the Oilers scored four goals in 11 power-play opportunities, resulting in a power-play percentage of just 36.4%.
While the Oilers have not been incredibly efficient in their power play chances, the Stars have managed to be even worse.
Dallas has had eight power-play chances across the past three games, yet only one goal has been scored across those opportunities.
These missed opportunities will loom large for a team that is now facing elimination in every game for the remainder of this series, but there are also other issues that must be addressed before Game 5.
Dallas has never been the most physical team in the league, but the complete lack of physicality in this series has given the Oilers a clear advantage.
The Stars have just 116 hits across the first four games, compared to Edmonton’s 186 hits.
Interestingly, Dallas has finished with at least 30 hits in only two of the games, while the Oilers have finished with at least 43 hits in every single matchup.
Increased physicality has allowed Edmonton to maintain its position along the ice, win battles for the puck, and control the overall flow of the game, resulting in early leads in every game in this series.
Finally, the Stars have given the puck away too many times in this series, allowing the Oilers extra scoring opportunities.
Dallas has finished every game in this series with at least 11 giveaways, including three games in which the team gave the puck away at least 17 times.
These giveaways allow the Oilers to obtain extra possessions throughout the game, a luxury the Stars cannot afford to allow moving forward.
Despite all of these issues, the Stars have actually remained close in the final minutes of multiple games, and they have the chance to make a drastic turnaround moving forward.
Excluding the singular victory, Dallas has been within two goals in two of the three losses, indicating that this team can still compete despite the major issues.
Mikko Rantanen, who has scored just two points in this series, pointed to the issues Dallas has dealt with and said the team must focus on starting hot.
“We’re having a hard time to get the first goal,” he said, per NHL.com.
“It would be important in the playoffs if you could play with the lead, we haven’t done it a lot.”
Dallas will look to address these issues in Game 5, which is scheduled to take place in the American Airlines Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.