Has the Finnish cornerstone and bedrock of the Dallas defense started to crack?
This is what one could think through a quick statistical review. Especially Esa Lindell, 28, has long been profiled as one of the best basic defensemen in the NHL. The last Major Series only confirmed these notions, as evidenced by, for example, the good old power statistics, the so-called plus-minus data, where Lindell was on the receiving end of no less than 29 hits.
Lukema was the 8th best among defenders in the entire league.
And Lindell’s pair of defenders didn’t do badly either Jani Hakanpää. The reading of the large-sized sweeper was plus 18 hits and the ranking in terms of defenders was 18.
It’s different now.
After two conference final losses, Lindell is in the cold with no fewer than eight hits. Lukema is the second-lowest of all players in the entire playoffs. During Lindell’s tenure, Dallas has lost 6-16 in 5-for-5 games.
The readings of Hakanpää, who missed the last three games due to a lower body injury, are similar.
Has Lindell’s game really collapsed this dramatically during the spring?
The answer is no. Or at least there can be no talk of any kind of collapse.
Lindell takes care of his own and other people’s affairs
Esa Lindell is still an almost irreplaceable cornerstone for Dallas, who are playing more courageously this season. Lindell is invariably the player who tries to fix the mistakes that happened in front of him as the last man, and this even creates false data for a questionable power statistic.
Let’s take it through examples.
Lindell has recorded seven minus marks in his account in the previous four matches alone. When looking at the goals, it’s hard to point the finger at the Finnish basic broom. At the same time, Dallas has controlled dangerous scoring chances with Lindell on the ice for almost 56 percent.
This illustrates how goals against Dallas often come from quick turnovers against a broken back five. Lindell cannot be beaten in the corners or in front of the goal, but the situation is different when superiority situations arise on the open ice or in the scoring sector.
In the overtime goal on Monday, the game turned near the Vegas blue line, when Joe Pavelski and Wyatt Johnston – for one reason or another – decided to switch and left the back three to cope with the 4-3 superiority attack.
The decision cost Dallas the game. The situation can be seen in the video below.
Dallas has reason to worry
Lindell’s darkest nights have been the first and sixth games against Seattle and the first against Vegas. Nine minuses were recorded for these games. In the first game of the Seattle series, you can put two hits on Lindell’s account, otherwise not really one.
So it’s not about Lindell, even if the power statistics suggest such an idea. Of course, Lindell has also had his weak moments, most recently in the first change of the Vegas series: a marking error, which created a scoring opportunity, a bad takedown and the loss of the puck were not a quality way to enter the game.
– Playing shows the miles of a long season. At the end of the regular season, I wondered why these big boys were loaded so much. However, they wrestle and twist the most there. The Minnesota series was a crazy twist and I think it drained the dudes’ tanks like crazy, Urheilu’s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen says.
Then came Seattle, which plays formula hockey. I could have told you in advance that it would be difficult. And Lindell still hasn’t played particularly badly. Of course, there is some frost in the power statistics.
Lindell’s power statistics are more a reflection of Dallas’ challenges as a team – both in terms of play and the quality of the defensive equipment. The head coach Peter DeBoer has given the team a license to attack more boldly than during the previous coaching, but the unquestionable consequence of this has been a destabilization of the field balance.
– If we think that Miro Heiskanen plays for half an hour, the other half is left for others. The cold fact is that some defenders are unable to fulfill their role. Lindell still can, but what about the others? Who can you trust but a mountain?
– Someone Ryan Suter plays far too many minutes. His bravado is a cross stick, Lehkonen rolls his eyes.
High-quality five-man play has a special importance now that the team enjoys at most an average goalkeeping game. With Jake Oettinger has had his moments, but the overtime goal on Friday was the latest in a somewhat confusing back-to-back hit. There have also been goals against Dallas with direct shots without a mask.
The footy Seattle was already able to hurt Dallas a lot due to indiscipline at the five-point level, but now the opponent has a completely different class of machinery in this regard.
There has to be a balance for five-man and defense play, and the goalkeeper adds more snap to the game. Otherwise, Dallas is truly on par with high-quality and fast Vegas.
Esa Lindell is unlikely to have anything to do with it in the future.