Stars seek bounce in Game 6 that can change series vs. Wild 'in a hurry'

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars buy into the notion that frustration is useless during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also getting angry, annoyed or just flat out screaming mad, for that matter.

"Well, yeah, it gets frustrating sometimes, but this is really not the time of year to get frustrated," Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said. "That doesn’t help at all."

But how else are they supposed to feel, considering how things have gone through five games against the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference First Round? 

How can the Stars not feel any angst going into Game 6 at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, truTV, TNT, SNE, SN360, TVAS)?

Minnesota leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 largely because its defense has prevented Dallas from getting anything going at 5-on-5, and because of the Stars' inability to create a bounce when they do get the Wild on their heels and chasing in the defensive zone.

It's not a problem created by lack of effort, grit, intensity or any other adjective that fits there, simply something Dallas has to solve to boost its chances of forcing a Game 7.

"We have to stay with it because you're not going to get one bounce every game, that's just the way it works," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "You might go 10 games without a bounce, might go five games without a bounce, but you've got to keep doing it, keep painting the picture over and over and winning battles and getting to the net and pretty soon you start to create bounces. 

"Success sometimes lags (behind) the work you're putting in. That's where we are now. We get one, it can change in a hurry. A series can change in a hurry, games can change in a hurry. You just have to stick with it. There's really no other answer, is there?"

Not unless you believe the Stars can do more to win puck battles, and create more traffic and commotion around the net to create the puck luck that has leaned in the Wild's favor.

Each team has 116 shots on goal at 5-on-5, according to NHL Stats. The Wild have scored 11 goals, the Stars three; none since the first period of Game 1, a streak of 217 minutes and 53 seconds without a 5-on-5 goal, the equivalent of nearly 11 full periods of hockey.

"Put more pucks on net," Dallas forward Jamie Benn said. "Keep shooting the puck. You get a chance, rip it. Usually, when you do that, good things happen, even if it doesn't go in. You'll get a rebound, start some chaos and we'll try to do that a little bit more in Game 6."

Benn is not saying anything that hasn't been said year after year, in every series, every postseason.

Pucks and bodies to the net. 

Sounds so simple.

It's not when Minnesota has jammed up shooting lanes, contested and blocked shots, and forced Dallas to shoot wide, into bodies, off the glass.

Gulutzan called it a series of the "blue paint wars" after Game 4. 

The Wild are winning them.

The Stars have the advantage in 5-on-5 shot attempts in the series (265-231), but 81 of its attempts have been blocked and another 68 have missed the net, according to NHL Stats.

"You can take your analytics and say, 'OK, he got a shot from there, it should go in,' but when it's contested or you're getting chased down and you've got instead of 3 feet to get it off you've got a millisecond to get it off because everything is closing tighter and tighter," Gulutzan said. "There's a difference between those analytic shots and tightly contested shots. 

"I see how those things are marked but everything is tighter. Everything is quicker. Everything has to be more precise. Everything is rushed. You've got to be better in those areas and that's why I talk about that fluidity, you have to have a sense of calm mixed in with that urgency to get that shot off and get it in the right spot."

If the Stars can have more success in that area, it could make all the difference. So could a bounce created by an unexpected contributor, like Wild forwards Marcus Foligno and Michael McCarron.

Foligno's was able to score the tying goal in the third period of Game 4 because he and the puck went to the net. McCarron's goal that gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead in the third period of Game 5 was a result of getting behind the defense and taking advantage of a Dallas turnover.

For the Stars, though, outside of the five skaters on their first power-play unit, who have combined for 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in the series, including 25 on the power play, they have gotten five points, no goals, from four other players. 

"It's not like we're not trying," Benn said.

Maybe it's the opposite.

"I think there are times where we're trying to do too much," Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. "Just simplify. Get guys to the net, get pucks to the net, and get a couple of crazy ones. That's the key."

A simplistic mindset can often lead to positive results this time of the year.

"We have a lot of good players, just got to earn a bounce," Rantanen said. "A lot of playoff goals are scored from there, in front of the net, just shots from point hitting guys. We haven’t had those yet. Got to work for it and we're due for those. The confidence is high." 

Nils Lundkvist (deep facial laceration) did not make the trip to Minnesota, meaning the Stars defenseman will miss his second consecutive game. … Dallas forward Arttu Hyry (lower body) made the trip, but Gulutzan said "we'll see how he is" when asked if he has a chance to play. Hyry sustained his injury in the second period of Game 5 and did not return. … Stars center Roope Hintz (lower body) did not make the trip. He is still skating on his own and has not played since March 6.