The Dallas Stars went into Game 5 with a prime opportunity to end the series early in Winnipeg. The Stars were coming off a previous Game 4 win that saw Mikael Granlund score a hat-trick. The Stars had a reversal of fortune on Thursday night, as they weren't able to break through the Winnipeg defense or Connor Hellebuyck.
Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Stars have been an up and down team as the series has progressed. For the first four games of their current playoff series, Dallas has looked to capture some of that playoff magic that could potentially lead to hoisting Lord Stanley. The Stars as of late have been following up big wins with completely different outputs, resulting in losses.
Jake Oettinger Continues To Make His Case For Conn Smythe
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars">Dallas Stars</a> currently stand on the verge of moving on to the Western Conference Final for the third straight season. Along with receiving clutch scoring, Dallas have recipients of some stellar goal tending from Jake Oettinger. Not only has Oettinger closed the door in the closing minutes of recent playoff games, his performance will certainly put him in the Conn Smythe candidacy conversation.
There were no surprises in Winnipeg in Game 5. With the Jets on the verge of elimination, it was expected that the Jets would come out swinging and would not let up for the entirety of the game. The Jets dominated the Stars in the first period as they outshot the Stars 11-4 with the Stars eventually being able to put up 22 shots for the game. Jake Oettinger would be the only thing between the Jets taking a lead in the 1st period.
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You win some, you lose some.
Winnipeg's first goal of the night would be the initial sign for the Stars that it was not their night, as Mark Scheifele's pass towards the slot deflected off of Thomas Harley, and past Jake Oettinger. With the Jets going on to score three more unanswered goals, the Stars struggled all night to get anything going offensively as they failed to make goaltender Connor Hellebuyck labor in the crease. What is most troubling about the Game 5 loss is not necessarily about the Stars being unable to close the series, but more about the troubling trend of Dallas being unable to get going early in games. While slow starts aren't a killer for teams long-term. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, getting off to a good start, especially on the road in a hostile environment, is an absolute must.
The Stars will get another shot at ending this series on Saturday, this time on home ice in Dallas. Puck drop is set for 7pm CDT, and can be viewed on ABC, and ESPN+.