The Stars coach wants his team to take advantage of the opportunities they get and cut down on the ones they allow the Calgary Flames when they try to avoid elimination in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSSW).
Neither happened in the third period in the Stars' 3-1 loss in Game 5 on Wednesday and have to change immediately if they want to force Game 7.
"We had that great scoring opportunity there right away. I talk about timely goals, we needed that one" Bowness said Thursday. "Actually, we weren't in any trouble, they weren't getting anything until they got that first goal, so that was bad neutral defense on our side]. It's a timely goal we could've gotten but again, it wasn't there, we didn't get it and we have to defend better."
***[RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Stars series coverage]*
The Flames, the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division, lead the Stars, the second wild card from the West, 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.
When trailing 3-2 in a best-of-7, the Stars are 3-16 (.158) and 2-12 (.143) when starting on the road. The Flames are 9-4 (.692) when leading 3-2, 3-3 (.500) when starting that series at home.
Game 5 was the first of the series in which the team that scored first didn't win. Dallas took a second-period lead on forward Jason Robertson's first career playoff goal, but that was it. In the two games the Stars have won in this series, they've scored at least two goals (2-0 in Game 2 and 4-2 in Game 3).
But their defensive lapses also have to cease. The Stars stifled the Flames through the first two periods in Game 5, but a gaffe in the third period led to forward Mikael Backlund's goal.
"One of our forwards turned the wrong way, which allows them to skate in; both [defensemen] are behind the net all tangled up together," Bowness said. "Again, when you're playing them, they can score. They didn't get anything going for a while. We didn't get that second goal when we had those opportunities. That always comes back to bite you too."
One constant positive for the Stars has been goalie Jake Oettinger, and they'll rely on him again in Game 6. The 23-year-old is 2-3 with a 1.63 goals-against average, .956 save percentage, which is the best in the playoffs among goalies who have played at least two games, and one shutout in five starts.
"I mean, obviously you feel the pressure a little bit, especially now. But for me, every game is so important," he said. "Doesn't really seem like too many things carry over from game to game. I just want to play well every night and now it's obviously crucial for us, our season is on the line. Everyone's got to go out there and put it all on the line and see what happens."
Flames forward Blake Coleman said they are expecting the Stars to throw everything at them in Game 6.
"This is the time of year you can't take your foot off the gas at all and can't let up or show any weakness. You've got to kick guys when they're down," Coleman said. "It's going to be a great atmosphere, obviously. Their backs are against the wall. You've got to match that intensity and that willingness to pay the price to win."
The Stars have had their chances to score and their chances to stop the Flames. They'll have to be on the right side of both Friday.
"Every play tomorrow night is going to be one that either won or lost us the game," Oettinger said. "We need guys to step up, obviously. I'm a huge part of that and I'm hoping to have the best game of the season tomorrow and go from there, but everyone needs to step up and leave it all on the table."
