“He’s just an awesome player, so good on both ends of the ice. So yeah, you don’t want to be without a guy like that,” Dallas Stars’ Wyatt Johnston said, and you could hear the weight in his voice. A few days back, Roope Hintz took a painful slash to the left leg during the third period of Game 2, and just like that, the energy inside American Airlines Center shifted. The Stars were already struggling, but when Hintz got helped off the ice, barely putting weight on that leg, every fan in the building knew this wasn’t just a minor hiccup.

Coach Pete DeBoer didn’t sugarcoat things postgame or the next morning either. “Just getting tests this morning… We’re waiting on those test results,” he told reporters Saturday, offering no promises but plenty of worry tucked between the lines. The play by Darnell Nurse at the root of it all? It was reviewed for a major, but officials ruled it a two-minute minor instead. The Stars were already down 3-0 when Hintz left, and while he’d already tallied three shots and won 7 of 14 face-offs in just over 12 minutes, it was clear the team missed his presence. And now, Coach Pete DeBoer finally breaks his silence on Roope Hintz’s injury after the Stars took another brutal blow from the Oilers.

In the post-game presser, reporters was digging for updates on Roope Hintz, and one reporter hit Pete DeBoer with a double-barreled question: “How close was Roope, and what was the adjustment to that, and how did the adjustments affect you guys? Was he in the game tonight?” Pete didn’t sugarcoat it. He laid it down straight, saying, “Well, I mean, he tried to warm up, but, no, he wasn’t close. Or if he was close, he probably would have played. Well, adjustments, you’re without your number one centre, so, you know. But I thought our guys, I give our guys credit. They didn’t mail it in, they showed up and worked.” Going into Game 2, Hintz had five goals and six assists to his name in 14 playoff games. With Hintz out, it was fellow center Oskar Bäck who took his place on the line.

Then another reporter circled back for clarity, asking, “You said at the beginning, I apologize, but on Roope, you said he was game time. He doesn’t play, is this day to day, or?” And then Dallas Stars’ coach dropped the status update we were all waiting on: “Yeah, I would call him day to day, yeah.” So for now, it’s a wait-and-hope for Dallas.

And well, that Game 3 showdown at Rogers Place? Total chaos. For the Stars that is. The Oilers came out with fire in their skates and lit it up! Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each tucked in two goals like it was a casual Sunday skate. Toss in Evan Bouchard’s wicked one-timer and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dealing assists like candy; yeah, it was a 6-1 masterclass. Dallas did get a flash of hope thanks to Jason Robertson, but it was short-lived. The Stars were peppering Stuart Skinner with shots (33 to be exact), but the man was a wall. Edmonton now leads the series 2-1, and Game 4’s about to be spicy on Tuesday night.

But let’s not forget; this wasn’t just Dallas missing Roope Hintz. The Oilers were also down a star of their own. Big-time blue-liner Mattias Ekholm is still sitting on the sidelines, even though he’s been looking sharp in practice. He has been dealing with a nagging injury since March, came back for one game, and re-aggravated it. The plan was for him to miss the first two games of the series, but now it’s all eyes on whether he’ll be ready to roll post-Game 3. His 10 points and a plus-9 rating during last year’s playoffs were instrumental in the Oilers going as far as they did. So his injury is a problem that the Oilers would want solved sooner rather than later. And if Ekholm manages to return in this series itself, it would bring more problems for the Stars, who already seem to be haunted by ghosts from the past. 

Dallas Stars in a déjà vu?

Last year, Stuart Skinner was Edmonton’s weakest link. But he just showed up like the sequel nobody saw coming. In Game 6 of the Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars, Skinner pulled off a 33-save stunner in Game 6 to send the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they went up against the Florida Panthers. Sunday’s game marked the Stars’ first playoff rodeo at Rogers Place since that game. It was also the first time they dropped two straight playoff games since Edmonton last year. But at least, the Stars had a 2-1 lead after Game 3 last year, before the Oilers ran away with it. This time around, things are looking much worse.

The Dallas Stars won Game 1 off a miracle third-period burst, but since then? Silence. One goal in Game 2. One in Game 3. And that five-goal firework show from Game 1’s third period? It’s looking more like a fluke than a trend. Meanwhile, Edmonton’s out here running back their old blueprint; clean, crisp, and deadly. Skinner’s silencing the haters again, while Oettinger’s letting in goals he normally wouldn’t. “We wouldn’t be sitting here in the conference finals without Jake,” Coach DeBoer said. But six goals on 24 shots? Woof. That one stung.

And let’s talk power plays real quick. Last year, NHL Dallas couldn’t cash in, going 0 for 14. Game 1 this year? They lit it up. But since then, nothing but tumbleweeds. The Oilers? They’re cooking, scoring on the power play every game so far. And that 5-on-5 play Coach DeBoer was tired of getting grilled about? It’s flipped. Dallas Stars used to dominate that space, now they’re getting outscored and outpaced. Still, DeBoer’s holding the line: “We don’t have to win three games in this building,” he said. “We’ve got to win one.”