If the Stars wish to avoid another Game 7 scenario, they'll need a win Friday night at Ball Arena in Denver.
Following a 5-3 loss in Game 5 of their Second Round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars find themselves with a 3-4 record at home this post-season. If they hope to end the series before it goes to a seventh game, they'll have to do so in Denver Friday night.
Stars head coach Pete DeBoer was asked why his team was having so much trouble keeping home-ice advantage during the post-season.
"I don't have an answer for that," DeBoer said after Game 5. "It's not like we're playing really poorly at home. We're not finding ways to win, which we do on the road. It's a fine line."
Prior to Game 4, the Avs were rocked by the news that winger Valeri Nichushkin would be out for the remainder of the playoffs after entering the NHL Player Assistance program, and defenseman Devon Toews would also miss the game due to an illness.
Dallas dominated that game, cruising to a 5-1 victory and sending them back home with a chance to close out in Game 5. Having a couple of days to process losing Nichushkin and getting Toews back for Game 6, Colorado wasn't about to go out easily. They took Game 5, playing more like the explosive offensive team they've been both in the regular season and playoffs.
This post-season, teams trying to finish off a series in non-Game 7 situations have gone 6-10. In the second round alone, teams attempting to close out are 1-4.
For their part, the Stars have struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard at American Airlines Center, allowing 3.14 goals per game versus 1.6 away from home.
"I think it's human nature to start thinking more about the result maybe a little bit too soon," Stars forward Matt Duchene said Thursday. "The other team's just kinda thinking shift-by-shift and staying in that moment. I think that's really powerful this time of year and that's the name of the game. I mean, this is a stressful time of year. It's fun, but it's stressful."
Road Recovery
Dallas had an opportunity to eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their First Round series on the road, only to see Vegas steal a win and force a Game 7 back in Dallas. Another chance presents itself Friday at Ball Arena in Denver.
Goalie Jake Oettinger, who has had his own struggles on home ice, has bounced back well after a loss in the playoffs. Over his career, he is 11-4 with a .925 save percentage in the post-season after suffering a defeat. In the first two rounds of these playoffs, he's 3-1 coming off a setback.
"Road games are obviously fun and the environment especially in the playoffs," Oettinger said Friday morning. "Everyone in here likes to play the villain and shut the home crowd up."
It's no secret that as Oettinger goes, so goes the team. But to a man, the players and coach remain solidly behind their netminder.
"He's probably the mentally toughest guy in this locker room," forward Jason Robertson said following Game 5. "I know it's the hardest job in hockey to be a goalie. He takes a lot of pride in his work... He's going to flush (Wednesday's loss) away and get ready for the next game."
Getting Back to Their Game
The Stars have found out the hard way that getting in a scoring race with Colorado isn't the way to beat them. While they survived by the skin of their teeth after the Avs almost came back from a four-goal deficit in Game 2, Dallas coughed up a three-goal lead to lose in overtime in Game 1 and allowed five goals in Game 5.
To end Colorado's season on Friday, the Stars need to play the kind of smothering defense against the Avs' top scorers, just as they did in games 3 and 4 on the road. Colorado scored just one goal in each of those games.
Their big guns came back to life in Game 5. Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, while defenseman Cale Makar scored two of the Avs' five goals.
It's unrealistic to expect the highest-scoring offense in the NHL during both the regular season and playoffs can be held down for long. But the Stars accomplished that for two games in Denver by creating turnovers, stifling Colorado's power play, and winning the puck battles. They need to employ that same strategy Friday to avoid having to win a Game 7 at home like they did against Vegas.
"It's tough to beat any team in this league four games in a row," DeBoer said Thursday. "I think the message in there is if we can contain (their top scorers) or make sure one of them's really good and not all three in the same night, we'll give ourselves a chance."
Injury Updates
Stars forward Roope Hintz, who suffered an upper-body injury in Game 4, is listed as day-to-day. Chris Tanev, who left in the first period of Game 5 to have a tooth pulled before returning a few shifts later, is fine and expected to play Friday.
Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, who has yet to see action in the playoffs after suffering an injury late in the regular season, is getting closer to returning.
"He's skating, actually traveled with us on this trip," DeBoer said Friday.
Projected Lines:
Robertson-Faksa-Johnston
Marchment-Seguin-Duchene
Benn-Pavelski-Stankoven
Smith-Steel-Dadonov
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Lundkvist
Oettinger
Puck drop for Friday is at 9 Pm CT and the game can be seen on TNT and TruTV.