The Dallas Stars find themselves in a bind entering Game Five of the Western Conference Final. Trailing the Edmonton Oilers three games to one, Pete DeBoer’s team needs to find solutions in a hurry after dropping each of the last three decisions. Over the last three games, the Oilers have outscored Dallas by a combined 13-2 margin.
Consequently, the Stars need to run the table the rest of the series. Otherwise, the Oilers will face the Florida Panthers in the first Stanley Cup Final rematch since the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins squared off in the 2008 and 2009 Cup Finals.
Game Five at American Airlines Center is at 8:00 p.m. EDT (7:00 p.m. CDT). The game will be televised nationally in the United States on ESPN and streamed live on ESPN+.
Series to date
Game One: The home team staged a comeback 6-3 win for the Stars. Dallas exploded for five unanswered goals in the third period to turn a 3-1 deficit into a three-goal victory.
Game Two: The Oilers blanked the Stars, 3-0. Stuart Skinner stopped all 25 shots he faced. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist for Edmonton.
Game Three: Edmonton cruised to a 6-1 win. Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman scored twice apiece. Jason Robertson tallied his first goal of the playoffs to temporarily get the Stars within 2-1.
Game Four: Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each notched one goal and one assist for the victorious Oilers in a 4-1 triumph. Nugent-Hopkins notched a pair of assists. The bright spot for Dallas was Robertson’s second goal in as many games before Edmonton pulled away in the third period.
Three Keys for Dallas
- The search for scoring. The Oilers have shut down Mikko Rantanten and company over the last three matches. Robertson cannot shoulder the entire scoring load alone if the Stars are to extend the series.
- Play from ahead. Dallas has had to chase the game in every match in the series. It worked in Game One, but that’s inevitably a losing formula when it happens too often.
- Keep Skinner busy. The Stars have not tested Stuart Skinner nearly enough since the series opener. The team in front of the goalie has much to do with it, of course. Nevertheless, the Oilers have minimized their on-paper disadvantage in net. Give Skinner credit, too. When he’s had to step up, he has.
Special teams comparison
Heading into the series, special teams in the playoffs presented an on-paper edge to Dallas. In Game One of the series, it proved to be the biggest difference-maker. The Stars went 3-for-4 on the power play on Wednesday, with all three tallies coming amid the massive turnaround in the third period. The Oilers scored on their first power play of the game. Subsequently, the Stars killed off their next two penalties including a vital PK in the third period.
Since then, it’s been a different story.
In Game Two, the Oilers went 1-for-5 on the power play. Dallas was 0-for-2. Two nights later in Game Three, the Oilers were 1-for-3 on the power play. The Stars were 0-for-2. Game Four saw the Stars go 1-for-4, courtesy of Robertson. The Edmonton power play was 2-for-3.
Updated series stats:
Power play: Stars (4-for-8), Oilers (5-for-14)
Penalty kill: Stars (9-for-14), Oilers 8-for-12)
Projected Dallas Starting Lines: Game Five
Mikael Granlund – Roope Hintz – Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment – Matt Duchene – Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Evgenii Dadonov
Jason Robertson – Sam Steel – Colin Blackwell
Esa Lindell – Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley – Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel – Alexander Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
[Casey DeSmith]
Possible scratches: Brendan Smith, Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin, Mavrik Bourque, Oskar Back, Nils Lundqvist (shoulder)
Projected Edmonton Starting Lines: Game Five
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Kasperi Kapanen
Evander Kane – Adam Henrique – Viktor Arvidsson
Trent Frederic – Mattias Janmark – Corey Perry
Brett Kulak – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Troy Stecher
Jake Walman – John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
[Olivier Rodrigue]
