If the Stars hope to grab the lead in its First Round series with Vegas, they have to reverse the trend of the road team winning each game.
If the Stars hope to grab the lead in its First Round series with Vegas, they have to reverse the trend of the road team winning each game.
In early April, Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer has been asked about home-ice advantage in the playoffs.
"Home ice isn't as important to me in the NHL playoffs until it gets to a Game 7," DeBoer said. "Then I think it becomes an important part. You want to be in that situation and have that opportunity as many times as you can to play that game at home."
Through four games of the First Round Playoff series between the Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, DeBoer's words have proven prophetic. Neither team has been able to win on their home ice. The Golden Knights snatched the first two games at American Airlines Center, and the Stars evened the series by winning both games at T-Mobile Arena.
Now, the series returns to Dallas Wednesday night for Game 5. If the Stars hope to grab the lead in its First Round series with Vegas, they have to reverse the trend of the road team winning each game.
So, is home ice a challenge?
"No," DeBoer said Tuesday. "I think we're all excited to sleep in our own beds and play in front of our home crowd at American Airlines (Wednesday). I think the rink will be jumping, it'll be electric. We're gonna need it. It's a two-out-of-three (series), and two of the three games are in our building."
All four games have been close, with each win coming by no more than two goals. So a big play or lucky bounce here, a mistake there, could be the difference in swinging the momentum one way or the other.
"The series could go a million different ways," goalie Jake Oettinger said following the Game 4 victory on Monday. "It's not always how you draw it up. Teams have come back from down 3-0, 3-1. It's not over unless you give up, and no one in here is giving up."
Which means the margin for error becomes narrower with each game, and that starts with Oettinger.
The Stars netminder has to be better at home. Over the first two games at American Airlines Center, Oettinger recorded a 3.50 goals-against average and .850 save percentage. His road numbers were much better: 1.77 GAA and .941 SV%.
The bottom six forwards have made contributions in this series, with Evgenii Dadonov and Ty Dellandrea each scoring goals in the Stars' Game 4 win. DeBoer has been successfully able to rotate players in and out of the fourth line rotation.
"When I look back at last year's series against Vegas and this year's, that's probably been the biggest difference," DeBoer said. "I thought their fourth line dominated the series last year. I thought our fourth line this year has been tilting the ice in our favor every time they're out there. It's been a huge equalizer compared to a year ago."
But the top six needs better production from Joe Pavelski and oope Hintz. They have just one goal between them: an empty-netter by Hintz to seal the Game 4 win.
Dallas must also maintain the same defensive pressure they utilized in their two wins. They had a combined 51 blocked shots in games 3 and 4 to Vegas's 46, including a 24-14 advantage in Game 4. The Stars have done this despite employing only five defensemen in the series, a strategy that doesn't concern DeBoer.
"All those guys are used to playing minutes," DeBoer said. "If we're still having these sessions a month from now, it might be (a concern). We're day-to-day right now."
Things to Watch for
- undefined
- undefined
- undefined
- undefined
Injury Updates
DeBoer said Wednesday morning that Radek Faksa and Mason Marchment, who both left Game 2 with injuries, will be game-time decisions for Game 5.
Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, who has not seen action in the series, is still rehabbing and will most likely not be an option for this series.
Projected Lines
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Benn-Duchene-Stankoven
Dadonov-Seguin-Pavelski
Dellandrea-Steelsmith
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Lundkvist
Oettinger
No extra energy drinks are necessary; puck drop for Game 5 is 6:30 Pm CT, and can be viewed on Bally Sports Southwest and ESPN.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
For Ty Dellandreea, Patience Finally Pays Off in Game 4 Win
Stars Play Their Cards Right, Win in OT
Logan Stankoven Earns Another Honor
Stars' Physical Approach Not enough to Draw Even In First Round Series
- undefined