3 Keys: Flames at Stars, Game 6 of Western First Round

(1P) Flames at (WC1) Stars
9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSSW
Flames lead best-of-7 series 3-2

The Dallas Stars will try to avoid elimination when they play the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at American Airlines Center on Friday.
The Stars had a 1-0 lead through two periods in Game 5 before the Flames scored three unanswered goals in the third to win 3-1 and take the lead in the series.
Stars coach Rick Bowness hopes his team can follow the lead of the Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday to force Game 7 in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
"The Mavericks come in here last night, they're going back to Phoenix," he said. "Our goal is to come in here tonight, go back to Calgary for Sunday Game 7]. Embrace the challenge. You can't be afraid. It is what it is. We put ourselves here, let's dig our way out."
***[\[RELATED: Complete Flames vs. Stars series coverage\]*
The Flames are trying to win their first best-of-7 series since 2015, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in six games in the first round.
"If there's something I've learned over the last few years, it's that closing a team out is the hardest part of a series and winning that fourth game is the hardest game you have to win," Flames forward Blake Coleman said. Coleman won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
"The job certainly isn't done," he said. "It's still a lot of work ahead of us here. They're going to be a proud group. You've got to put them in a position where they just don't want it anymore."
Teams that hold a 3-2 lead in a best-of-7 series have an all-time series record of 332-88 (.790), including an 8-1 record in the 2021 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys to Game 6:

1. Flames finding offense

The Flames are starting to get the necessary production, especially late. They have scored six third-period goals in the past two games, winning each.
Johnny Gaudreau has had a hand in three of those six goals (one goal, two assists), and leads the Flames in the series with five points (one goal, four assists). He led Calgary and was tied for second in the NHL during regular season with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists).
"Johnny's been really good in the playoffs," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "For me, he's taken that step 100 percent. He did it during the season. He's done it during the playoffs. I'm proud of Johnny."

2. Stars power play needs something

Bowness said earlier in the series that if the power play is at least getting momentum, it helps. But the Stars power play not only is coming up empty, it's not getting much zone time, many shots and therefore no momentum.
The Stars are 2-for-20 (10.0 percent) on the man-advantage, 15th among the 16 playoff teams (Florida Panthers, 0-for-16), and their 21 shots on goal on the power play are the fourth fewest. Considering the Stars' low-scoring ways -- they've scored an NHL-low eight goals in the postseason -- they need to take advantage of any power plays they get in Game 6.
"The power play is getting outworked. It's as simple as that," Bowness said after Game 5, when the Stars were 0-for-3. "Their penalty killers had two shots. Our power play had two shots in six minutes. It's as simple as that."

3. Goaltending remains outstanding

If you're a fan of goaltending duels, Jacob Markstrom of the Flames and Jake Oettinger of the Stars have not disappointed. Markstrom is 3-2 with a 1.21 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and one shutout in five games; Oettinger is 2-3 with a 1.63 GAA, .956 save percentage and one shutout in five games.
Oettinger said he's enjoyed playing against Markstrom.
"He's obviously a great goalie," he said. "Both of us have played well in the series. He's one of my favorite goalies to watch probably in the League right now."

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Elias Lindholm -- Matthew Tkachuk
Andrew Mangiapane -- Mikael Backlund -- Tyler Toffoli
Dillon Dube -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Blake Coleman
Milan Lucic -- Trevor Lewis -- Brett Ritchie
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington -- Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Scratched:Adam Ruzicka, Ryan Carpenter, Connor Mackey, Michael Stone
Injured:None

Stars projected lineup

Michael Raffl -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Jason Robertson -- Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin
Joel Kiviranta -- Radek Faksa -- Luke Glendening
Jacob Peterson -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Marián Studenič
Ryan Suter -- Miro Heiskanen
Joel Hanley -- John Klingberg
Esa Lindell -- Jani Hakanpaa
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched:Thomas Harley, Andrej Sekera, Alexander Radulov, Denis Gurianov
Injured:None

Status report

The Flames could use seven defensemen and 11 forwards in Game 6, as they did in Games 4 and 5. If they go that route, Ritchie would come out of the lineup and Stone would be the seventh defenseman. ... The Stars are expected to have the same lineup as Game 5.