Stars Stay Dry at Even Strength, Face Elimination After Game 5 Loss

After a 4-2 loss in a critical Game 5, the Dallas Stars have their backs against the wall in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Stars have not won a Game 6 on the road while trailing a series 3-2 since 2016 against the St. Louis Blues. In that season, Dallas lost at home in a Game 7 blowout. Most recently, the Stars have bowed out of the playoffs in a Game 6 Western Conference Final loss against Edmonton and Vegas once each.

Now, the Stars head to Minnesota to try and extend their season to a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Dallas, but have to fight through a fierce crowd and hungry Wild squad looking for their first series win in over a decade. To do it, their 5-on-5 game has to come through. The Stars are getting outscored 16-3 in those situations, and are shooting a dismal 3 percent at even strength. Something has to change or Dallas will see their season end far sooner than anyone expected.

The production for the Stars is flat out unacceptable, with only five different goal scorers carrying the entire offense through five games. No third or fourth line player has scored yet, and only one defenseman has hit the score sheet. Only Miro Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene have tallied goals for Dallas.

Minnesota took it to the Stars in Dallas Tuesday night, nearly doubling the shot total for the Stars while taking the lead twice in the first two periods.

With hopes of their 5-on-5 game finally breaking through, the Stars knew the importance of starting off strong and trying to be the first team to get on the board.  However, a failed clearance by Tyler Myers ended up in front of Jake Oettinger, who stopped the first chance but not the second from Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello had just returned after getting elbowed in the head in Game 1 and missing the next three games.

The Stars tried to generate something at even strength to get the crowd back into it, but the breakthrough for the home team came on the power play, something that has defined the series for Dallas. A perfect tic-tac-toe pass led to Heiskanen burying his second of the series to tie the game 1-1.

The Wild scored on a power play late in the first period, but head coach Glen Gulutzan wasted no time challenging the play for goaltender intereference, and referees TJ Luxmore and Trevor Hanson agreed. The goal was called back and the Stars survived.

Dallas continued to generate possession but couldn't get quality shots through at even strength, and it finally cost them as Matt Boldy ended the second period with a last minute power play goal to edge the Wild ahead once more.

In the third, Michael McCarron slid a puck through Oettinger's pads to increase their lead to 3-1, and the Stars were doomed from there. Despite scoring after pulling Oettinger during a 4-on-4 situation, essentially creating a power play, the Stars gave up an empty net goal shortly after to give the Wild the critical Game 5 win.

The Stars were without one of their better puck-moving defenseman, Nils Lundkvist, after taking a skate to the face in Game 4, and clearly missed his presence. Myers had trouble clearing the zone while filling a second pair role next to Thomas Harley, which resulted in him getting benched for the final 12 minutes of the third period.

The Stars desperately need Lundkvist back for Game 6, along with some depth goal scoring and even strength scoring. Without that, it is hard to win a game in the playoffs, let alone a series against one of the best teams in the league.

Game 6 is early on Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m. in Minnesota.

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