'It's a great opportunity for us': Stars eager get Game 7 going

First Round: Game 7 (series tied 3-3)

The Stars get to play a Game 7 on Sunday, and that's a special thing.
Of course, they earned this right, but they still need to see it as a great opportunity.
"Pressure is a privilege," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "Every day in this league is a privilege, and the pressure that comes with it is a privilege. That's one thing we talk to our guys about. Never be afraid of a challenge, never be afraid of the pressure. Embrace it. Want it. That's how we take it."
Dallas was able to win a huge Game 6 to force this game, and Bowness said that gives the team some amount of confidence.
"It's great feeling," Bowness said. "Somebody had to win to get into that Game 7. It was us [on Friday] and that's a great feeling. But somebody is going home, and somebody is moving on. We've said from Day 1 that we didn't come into this to be somebody's else's steppingstone. We're going to be all out and we're going for it."

The league has had a series of Game 7s, and the three on Saturday emphasized just how crushing it can be. Toronto, Boston and LA lost, and now their seasons are over. The Stars want to avoid that.
Several players have the experience of both winning and losing a Game 7 in overtime. Dallas lost to St. Louis in double overtime in 2019 and then beat Colorado in overtime in 2020. That's created some interesting memories for players like Jamie Benn and Joel Kiviranta. Benn had a wraparound attempt stopped halfway over the goal line in St. Louis and then watched as Kiviranta tallied a hat trick, including the game-winner against Colorado. Asked if he ever watches replays, Benn chuckled.
"You look at the good stuff," Benn said. "I've probably watched Kivi's goal more than once, obviously. Definitely not the wraparound in St. Louis."
Kiviranta said he tries to look forward and not back.
"What's past is past," Kiviranta said. "We have a great series with Calgary."
That's true, and you can be sure the intensity will be dialed up.
"Game 7s are a great opportunity for someone to be a hero," Benn said. "Pretty excited to play in that building one more time."

What to watch

The Stars have some interesting lineup decisions to make.
Luke Glendening was knocked out of Game 6 on a high hit by Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Glendening cleared concussion protocol, but also suffered a lower-body injury when he landed after the hit. He didn't skate Sunday morning and is being called a game-time decision.
If he plays, the likelihood is the Stars will go with the same lineup they had in Game 6. If he can't play, it creates a number of different options. Dallas could go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, drawing Thomas Harley or Andrej Sekera into the game. It could use either Alexander Radulov or Denis Gurianov, who were healthy scratches in Game 6. Or it could use someone like Ty Dellandrea, who was called up from the Texas Stars after their season ended.
"We have different options," Bowness said when asked what he might do. "All of the above."
Bowness said on Saturday that the high hit should be addressed by the league.
"These are the hits we're trying to get out of the game," Bowness said of the fact there was head contact from Zadorov. "I know it's bigger guy hitting a smaller guy, but it's the first contact on the head that we've been trying for years to get out of the game. All they can do is keep addressing it. You can't let it slide, it has to be addressed, and it's up to the league to see what they want to do about it."
The league disagreed sending out a statement on Saturday that they wouldn't be giving Zadorov any supplemental discipline.
The Department of Player Safety wrote: "While there was significant head contact on this play, Zadorov took a proper angle of approach, did not extend outward or upward, and hit through Glendening's core. Therefore, under Rule 48.1 (i), the head contact was determined to be unavoidable."
When asked to react to the decision, Bowness said on Sunday morning: "Out of my hands. Game 7, so we move on."
When asked on Saturday about Glendening's status, Bowness said the veteran would do everything he could to be in the lineup.
"He got racked pretty good, but he's tough as nails," Bowness said. "It's going to take an awful lot to keep him out of that game."

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Lineup update

There are too many options to discuss if Glendening is out. Here was the lineup from Game 6.
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Raffl-Benn-Seguin
Peterson-Namestnikov-Glendening
Kiviranta-Faksa-Studenic
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Hanley-Klingberg
Oettinger
Wedgewood

Numbers

.954

Jake Oettinger ranks first in save percentage in the playoffs at .954 and is fourth in goals-against average at 1.69. Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom ranks first in GAA at 1.52 and second in save percentage at .945.

8

Joe Pavelski leads the Stars in Game 7 appearances with eight. He's 6-2 in Game 7s. Pavelski leads the Stars in playoff scoring this year with five points (three goals, two assists) in six games.

54.6 percent

Dallas ranks third in faceoff winning percentage during the playoffs at 54.6 percent. The Stars ranked second during the regular season at 54.8 percent.
He said it
"This series deserves to have a Game 7. The score is 12-12."-- Flames coach Darryl Sutter
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.