Stars face Kraken in Rematch

Mar 13, 2023 - 6:00 PM

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The Dallas Stars gave up a late goal to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, but it didn’t end the game. Dallas went empty net, and the teams six skaters swarmed the Kraken net, tying it up with a tight angle dagger from Joe Pavelski.

In overtime, Seattle cycled Dallas, maintaining possession for much of the session, but when given the opportunity, the Stars new players showed precisely the skills that brought them to the team, setting Miro Heiskanen for the slick one-timer for the win.

The great thing about Max Domi is that the positives are all out in the open. The saucer pass to Heiskanen was clearly the play of the game, and quite rightly made all of the highlight reels. Seeing missed defensive coverage takes a bit more of a trained eye, and it has been on display over the last few games, if you’re watching for it.

On Saturday, the offensive creativity Domi brings won the game for the Stars. As long as the offensive upside outweighs the defensive lapses - especially with Tyler Seguin out for at least a few games - bringing in the high event center will be seen as one of Jim Nill’s better trade deadline deals.

Dallas Stars Lineup

Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelski (16)
Mason Marchment (27) – Max Domi (18) - Ty Dellandrea (10)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgeny Dadonov (63)
Joel Kiviranta (25) - Radek Faksa (12) – Fredrik Olofsson (42)

Miro Heiskanen (4) – Colin Miller (6)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Ryan Suter (20) – Nils Lundkvist (5)

Jake Oettinger (29)
Matt Murray (32)

Noticeably, the Stars top line was the Stars top line. Lining up against the Kraken’s second line, they dominated play. The Stars second line held their own against Seattle’s top line - lots of shots on both sides.

The matchup that needs some attention is between the third lines, which will likely be something that Seattle looks to exploit against. Johnston’s line pulled a 31.25% shot share, with an expected goal percentage of 21.98, per NaturalStatTrick. With back to back games, these are the types of differences that teams can coach to.

With a game against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, Matt Murray should get a start in one of the two games.

Seattle Kraken Lineup

Jared McCann (19) - Matthew Beniers (10) - Jordan Eberle (7)
Jaden Schwartz (17) - Alexander Wennberg (21) - Oliver Bjorkstrand (22)
Eeli Tolvanen (20) - Yanni Gourde (37) - Jesper Froden (38)
Daniel Sprong (91) - Ryan Donato (9) - Brandon Tanev (13)

Vince Dunn (29) - Adam Larsson (6)
Jamie Oleksiak (24) - William Borgen (3)
Carson Soucy (28) - Justin Schultz (4)

Martin Jones (30)
Philipp Grubauer (31)

Grubauer was fine for the game, but Jones has been getting the majority of the starts.

Otherwise, there wasn’t too much in the game to push the Kraken to change their lineup.

Keys to the Game

Top Line Dominance. Does Seattle have the skaters to match up against the Stars first line? If not, Pavelski-Hintz-Robertson could take over the game.

Special Teams. Seattle went one for four on the power play, while the Stars only got one call. 5x5, Dallas seems to have the advantage.

Pride Night. Might not be a key to the game, but the Kraken did a great job on their warm-ups for the game.