DALLAS — There’s no bigger question surrounding Game 5 than whether Dallas Stars defenceman Chris Tanev will be healthy enough to play against the Edmonton Oilers.
“I would call him ‘Game time,’” said Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer Friday morning. “I’m optimistic.”
Stars fans should be too, given Tanev’s history as one of the league’s toughest hombres.
Tanev left midway through Game 4 after blocking an Evander Kane shot and did not return, prompting plenty of concern over the seriousness of his ailment. After all, the 34-year-old has made endless trips to the dressing room over the years to address injuries, only to re-emerge minutes later.
He was reportedly spotted in the Edmonton airport Thursday wearing a walking boot and did not take part in the Stars’ optional skate Friday morning.
“It got him in a soft spot,” said DeBoer, who had counted on Tanev for upward of 23 minutes a night before he was injured. “Huge part of our group, I think that’s obvious.
“Our record since the trade deadline with him in (15-4-0), all the underlying numbers … he affects all kinds of parts of the game.”
Added Stars forward Jason Robertson of the gap-toothed veteran, “He’s a warrior, I mean, all you have to do is look at his smile and you’ll see how tough he is.”
It’s a big hole to fill if he’s somehow unable to play, but if he can’t move on a bad foot, DeBoer will have to make a decision. Two springs ago, Tanev suffered a significant shoulder injury in Round 1, Game 6 versus Dallas, when he was a Calgary Flame.
He joined Round 2 versus Edmonton for Games 4 and 5, but was limited in his effectiveness — and later required shoulder surgery.
“Everything is on the table if Tanev can’t go,” said DeBoer, when asked who might replace the minute-munching leader in the lineup.
Although 20-year rookie Lian Bechsil said he was told to be ready for the possibility he’ll make his NHL debut, Nils Lundqvist and Derrick Pouliot are also options.
DeBoer, who said he has other game-time decisions to make, ruled Jani Hakanpaa out, as he’s still battling injury.
A Place for Perry
It seemed a good idea to get Corey Perry back into this Edmonton Oilers lineup in Game 4, after being replaced for Game 6 of the Vancouver series.
But whose idea was it to play a slower, aging bottom-six winger with elite centre Leon Draisaitl and speedster Ryan McLeod on the left wing? That quickly became Edmonton’s best line in Game 4.
“He’s an experienced guy. He’s very smart, and he knows what he is now,” Draisaitl said of the 39-year-old. “I think it’s Clouder’s or my job to get him into positions where he can do his part, where he’s the best in the world at.
“We’re not looking to play a run-and-gun style, anyways,” Draisaitl added. “(They want to) have possession, have O-zone time where he can you can be at his best.”
Perry had little success in these playoffs on a line with McLeod and Warren Foegele, two speedsters who don’t cycle the puck as well.
Draisaitl is as good as there is at slowing the game down in the offensive zone and cycling the puck, which is exactly what Perry’s game desires. We’ll see, but this could be a sneaky-good coaching move that gets the best of whatever is left out of Perry, one of the sport’s legendary big game players.
How They Line Up
Tanev’s availability is the biggest lineup question for either team. DeBoer also noted he has some game-time decisions to make among his forwards, who could be getting banged up.
DeBoer downplayed fatigue, saying “You’re so close to the end,” but the fact is that 39-year-old Joe Pavelski, for one, looks like he’s running on fumes. DeBoer would be loath to take him out of his lineup, however, the way Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch put Perry upstairs in Round 2.
Meanwhile, Sam Carrick skated as Edmonton’s 4C at a full morning skate for the Oilers, an apparent replacement for Derek Ryan.
Here’s how we suspect they’ll line up for Game 5, with the asterisk on Tanev:
EDMONTON
Nugent-Hopkins-McDavid-Hyman
McLeod-Draisaitl-Perry
Kane-Henrique-Holloway
Janmark-Carrick-Brown
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Kulak
Broberg-Ceci
Skinner
DALLAS
Robertson-Hintz-Seguin
Marchment-Duchene-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Dadonov-Steel-Smith
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Petrovic
Oettinger
Momentous Momentum Abounds
This series is the second conference finals in NHL history to feature consecutive multi-goal comeback wins.
The Stars were the latest team to blow an early (2-0) lead in Edmonton, as the Oilers controlled play the final 50 minutes of Wednesday’s series-tying game. Dallas has been one of the NHL’s best teams in terms of bouncing back from a loss, sporting a 25-9-2 record after setbacks.
“In terms of adversity, we’ve gotten great responses every time we’ve been in that situation in my time here,” said DeBoer.
“I’m really confident in my group in those type of situations, and it starts with leadership.”
That leadership includes Jamie Benn, who admits the wild swings in momentum have been entertaining, to say the least.
“It’s pretty crazy, a lot of back and forth. It has been a really exciting series to be a part of, and I’m sure, to watch. No lead is safe, that’s for sure,” Benn said. “It’s trying to do the right things every time you go out on the ice. Big shifts after you score a goal, or after they score a goal to try to get that momentum back.”
Jake Oettinger, who allowed four goals in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss, has a 4-1 record with a 1.82 GAA and .924 save percentage after allowing four goals in a game.
Edmonton showed in Game 4 that when it play its best game, it’s good enough to beat the Stars. But Dallas has also had the same success.
It now becomes a matter of who grabs hold of the game for the longest period of time. Who can grab control of a series between two teams that are more even than some people thought.
“I truly believe that our best beats anyone’s best,” Draisaitl said. “It’s just a matter of consistently playing that way, and that’s taxing. To play at your best every single night, every single shift, that’s really hard to do.
“But I think we’re finding our way a little bit.”