First Shift 🏒
The Stars have been masterful all season at being able to mix urgency with calm.
The Lads in Victory Green led the NHL in wins when trailing after two periods with eight. They overcame multi-goal deficits and squeezed points out of games when they didn’t always play their best. Dallas led the NHL in shooting percentage at 13.2 percent, meaning they typically were pretty poised under fire when finding the right shot.
But that has dried up in the playoffs. The Stars aren’t coming back, they aren’t making patient plays, they are 14th in shooting percentage at 8.0 percent.
So changing that is a big part of the game plan for Game 6 on Thursday in Minnesota.
“You have to be able to play in these pressure situations,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “I don’t think it is anything grit-related, I think both teams were competing very hard last night. I think you actually have to have more of a sense of calm to be able to make a play under pressure. Even a couple of chances we had missing the net or a couple of opportunities where if we make a two-foot pass and we get a good scoring chance. So some of that stuff we have to settle in and make some plays with some fluidity.”
Dallas has scored nine power play goals and leads the NHL so far in the playoffs. However, it has just three even strength goals to 14 for Minnesota. That has been a talking point for several days.
“They are doing a great job in front of their goalie,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “We just have to keep digging in and keep throwing pucks in there and make them get in front of him and make life tougher.”
Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt is in his first playoff run, but has some of the best metrics in the league so far. The Stars believe they can get pucks past him, but they have to work harder.
“It gets frustrating sometimes, but this is really not the time of year to get frustrated,” Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said after Game 5. “You know you’ve got to just keep plugging away, you’ve got to adapt, try to find a way like we’ve been trying, but you’ve got to try to find something else, to find the 5-on-5 stuff.”
And yet, they can’t panic.
“You just have to stay with it, keep painting the picture over and over and keep winning battles and getting to the net, and pretty soon you start to create bounces,” Gulutzan said. “Sometimes success lags the work you’re putting in…that’s where we are now.”
Gulutzan believes the even strength scoring can change quickly.
“If you get one, the series can change in a hurry, games can change in a hurry, so you’ve just got to stick with it,” the coach said. “There’s really no other answer.”
