3 Keys: Stars at Flames, Game 5 of Western First Round

(WC1) Stars at (1P) Flames
9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSW
Best-of-7 series tied 2-2

The Dallas Stars will break up their top line of left wing Jason Robertson, center Roope Hintz and right wing Joe Pavelski when they play the Calgary Flames in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.
Michael Raffl will join Hintz and Pavelski. Robertson moves to the second line with center Jamie Benn and right wing Tyler Seguin.
"Raffl] has been playing great hockey for us and he hangs onto the puck," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "You watch him, possession time at the end of the game, he's always our top forward. So he does a really good job on the forecheck, he's very reliable defensively and he will hang onto pucks and hopefully get Roope and 'Pav' the puck a little bit more."
***[RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Stars series coverage]*
Robertson (41 goals, 38 assists), Hintz (37 goals, 35 assists) and Pavelski (27 goals, 54 assists) have played together the majority of the past two seasons and combined for 232 points (105 goals, 127 assists) during the regular season. Pavelski has scored four points (three goals, one assist) in four games, Hintz has scored two points (one goal, one assist), but his goal was into an empty net with one second remaining in a 4-2 win against the Flames in Game 3. Robertson has one assist in the series.
The Flames played their best game in Game 4, getting 54 shots on goal and improving their offensive-zone time to defeat the Stars 4-1.
"We got the first goal, which was big, and then we were pushing trying to get the second one and took to the early part of the third period, then got the third and rolled from there," Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "[Playing more 5-on-5], it helps a lot. We played a lot more in the [offensive] zone. We were shooting pucks. We had more guys to the net. But we can still be a lot better with that."
Teams that win Game 5 when a series is tied 2-2 are 219-58 (.791), including 6-0 in the 2021 playoffs.
Here are 3 keys to Game 5:

1. Stars need defensive improvement

Defense long has been the Stars' strength, but Game 4 was their worst defensive performance of the series. They need to get back to what's worked for them.
"I think we need to end plays quicker," defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. "In the last game we spent too much time in our zone, so try to end plays quicker and get out of the zone."

2. Flames looking for strong start

The Flames got off to quick starts in their two wins, outshooting the Stars 11-3 in the first period of Game 1 (1-0) and 19-8 in Game 4. They're looking for another Wednesday.
"That's what's made us a good team this year," forward Milan Lucic said. "It's going to be big here tonight with it being a tied series and it's going to be a lot of fun with the 'C of Red' being as excited as they're going to be."

3. No need to adjust

Though Stars defenseman John Klingberg is expected to be paired with Joel Hanley instead of usual partner Esa Lindell, he said it won't be much of an adjustment.
"We're used to changing [defense] partners," Klingberg said. "We do that, obviously, on the PK, PP sometimes too. There's nothing new there and I love playing with both Esa and Joel. They're great players. You're in the NHL for a reason. You read off players, you read off each other. That's how you make a successful pair or line."

Stars projected lineup

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

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
Status report
Stars forwards Radulov and Gurianov are expected to be scratched for Peterson and Studenic. ... Flames coach Darryl Sutter didn't confirm any lineup changes. Calgary dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Game 4.