3 Keys: Avalanche vs. Stars, Game 6 of Western Second Round

No. 2 Avalanche vs. No. 3 Stars
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Dallas leads best-of-7 series, 3-2

The Dallas Stars can advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2008 by defeating the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Second Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Stars coach Rick Bowness did not announce a starting goalie for Game 6. Ben Bishop, who did not skate Wednesday, was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots in the first period of a 6-3 loss in Game 5 on Monday; it was his first start since Game 2 of the first round against the Calgary Flames on Aug. 13. Anton Khudobin, who had started the previous eight games, made 20 saves in relief.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wouldn't disclose a starting goalie for Game 6. Michael Hutchinson made 31 saves on 34 shots in his first Stanley Cup Playoff start in Game 5. Bednar did not provide an update Tuesday on goalie Pavel Francouz, who was unfit to play in Game 4, and said goalie Philipp Grubauer, who was injured in Game 1, was not an option.
As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.
Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

1. Starting strong

Dallas was sloppy in the opening minutes of Game 5, spending much of its time defending in its zone, failing to get clears and ultimately allowing five goals in the first period.
"I think you've got to learn from the first 10 minutes, that's for sure," forward Andrew Cogliano said Monday. "I think we did things in that 10 minutes that we haven't done all series. We gave them way too much time coming into our end. So we'll look at that to try to correct it but then you flush it because you move on and you get ready for the next game. It's a series, we're up 3-2 and that's all that matters right now."

2. Secondary scoring arrives

Avalanche center Nazem Kadri scored his second goal of the second round in Game 5, as did center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Colorado needs others to help the top line of left wing Gabriel Landeskog, center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Mikko Rantanen when it comes to production.
"You have to score to win and it's not every night that your top line is going to be able to carry you," Bednar said Monday. "If other guys are chipping in in a bunch of different areas, it makes you a deeper team. You're not winning against the final seven teams unless you have everyone tugging on the rope."

3. Keeping players involved

Dallas forward Alexander Radulov played 9:31 in Game 5, his fewest minutes of the postseason. Bowness said the Stars have to cut down on penalties to keep players like Radulov, who is not a penalty killer, more involved.
"That line is going to have to be a lot better, let's put it that way, and he's part of it," Bowness said of the top line of right wing Radulov, left wing Jamie Benn and center Tyler Seguin on Tuesday. "And we have to stay out of the box to give that line a chance to get the flow going. When we just take penalties like we did, it takes that line out of the flow of the game. We have to be more disciplined."

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Andre Burakovsky -- Nazem Kadri -- Valeri Nichushkin
Tyson Jost -- J.T. Compher -- Vladislav Namestnikov
Matt Nieto -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Logan O'Connor
Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Ian Cole
Nikita Zadorov -- Kevin Connauton
Michael Hutchinson
Hunter Miska
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Shane Bowers, Bowen Byram, Sheldon Dries, Anton Lindholm, Logan O'Connor , Conor Timmins, T.J. Tynan
Unfit to play: Philipp Grubauer, Pavel Francouz, Erik Johnson, Matt Calvert, Joonas Donskoi

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark -- Joe Pavelski -- Denis Gurianov
Jason Dickinson -- Roope Hintz -- Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano -- Radek Faksa -- Blake Comeau
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak -- Miro Heiskanen
Andrej Sekera -- Taylor Fedun
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched: Nick Caamano , Ty Dellandrea, Justin Dowling, Joel Kiviranta, Jason Robertson , Gavin Bayreuther , Joel Hanley, Thomas Harley, Landon Bow , Jake Oettinger
Unfit to play: Stephen Johns