(WC1) Kraken to (C2) Stars
Western Conference Second Round, Game 2
Seattle leads best-of-7 series 1-0
9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS
DALLAS– The Seattle Kraken will be looking to take a big advantage in the Western Conference second round when they face the Dallas Stars in Game 2 at the American Airlines Center on Thursday.
The Kraken beat the Stars 5-4 in overtime in Game 1. They were the first team to score five goals against the Stars goaltender. Jake Oettinger in his NHL playoff career. Three came in a 52-second stretch of the first period.
“We stayed true to our game and tried to get inside as much as we could, but he’s an incredible keeper,” the striker said. morgan geek said. “On the other side, he had a great streak last series, and we knew that coming.”
[RELATED: Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]
“We try to get the pucks to the net and hit the right spots and we were lucky to get five. I don’t know if we’re going to score five every night, but we’ll just try to do what we can and give our team the best chance to win.”
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 second round are 343-55 (.862), including 1-1 (.500) in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for game 2:
1. Robertson is looking to break through
Jason Robertson said he had opportunities throughout the playoffs. Whether he scores or not, the Stars forward (seven points, two goals, five assists in seven games) is looking to make an impact.
“I think every game I always get at least an A grade, so that’s something to be positive about,” Robertson said. “I just want to have a positive impact on the game, turn the tide, not get marked when I’m there. Just create, put our team in good situations after my substitution or whatever.”
2. Road Warriors
Seattle is 4-1 on the road in the playoffs. The only teams with more road wins on their first playoff trip are Minnesota Wild (six in 2003), Vegas Golden Knights (six in 2018), Florida Panthers (five in 1996) and the New York Islanders (five in 1975).
Why has the Kraken been so good on the road?
“I wish I had the answer to that question,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “We’ve had a lot of success on the road all year. I don’t get much out of it, maybe we need to be a bit better at home. I guess that’s what I would get out of it. .
“Sometimes there are trends that you see throughout the year. It’s been one for us. We’ve been comfortable on the road. We’ve been pretty focused on the road. Tonight will be obviously our biggest test on the road this season.”
3. Pavelski’s power
stars ahead Joe Pavelsky is coming off a four-goal performance in Game 1. If he scores again in Game 2, he will join Steve Payne as the only player in Stars/Minnesota North Stars history to score five goals in one. two-game playoff period. Payne had three in Game 1 and two in Game 2 against the Boston Bruins in the 1981 preliminary round.
“Obviously we’re here to win games at this time of year,” Pavelski said, “so you appreciate certain things and what you feel and the confidence that you get from certain games. But you wash that away. , and you have to go do it again and try to contribute whatever you can. I mean, it’s about winning right now and trying to get those four wins the fastest in your streak.
Projected range of Kraken
Tye Kartye — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz — Alex Wennberg –Morgan Geekie
Eeli Tolvanen — Yanni Water Bottle — Olivier Bjorkstrand
brandon tanev — Ryan Donat — Daniel Jump
Vince Dun — Adam Larson
Jamie Oleksiak — Will Borgen
Carson Soucy — justin schultz
Philippe Grubauer
Martin Jones
Striped: Fleury hold, Jaycob Megna, Jesper Fröden, Chris Driedger
Hurt: Andre Burakovsky (lower body), Jonas Donskoy (upper body), John Hayden (lower body), Jared McCann (undisclosed)
Projected lineup of stars
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Tyler Seguin
march of the masons — Max Domi –Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Yevgeny Dadonov
Luke Glendening — Radek Faksa — Ty Dellandrea
ryan suter — Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell — Jani Hakanpaa
Thomas Harley — Colin Miller
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Striped: Joel Hanley, Joel Kiviranta, Nils Lundkvist, Frederic Olofsson, Riley Tufte
Hurt: None
Status report
Schwartz and Schultz were off the ice during morning practice. “I guess at this time of year you never really know,” Hakstol said. “We’ll see where we are tonight.” … The Stars will have the same lines as Game 1.
