Heika’s Take: Even strength struggles, leave Stars facing elimination after Game 5 loss

The team that wins Game 5 in a 2-2 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs goes on to advance 79.4 percent of the time.

The Minnesota Wild earned the right to sleep on that statistical pillow for at least a couple of nights after a 4-2 win over the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean the lads in Victory Green are deterred in any way. Despite the disappointing loss, they can’t wait to get to Minnesota for Game 6 on Thursday.

“We knew it was going to be a long series, and we knew it was going to be a tight series,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “We feel we could be up 3-2 in the series, but we are not and that is just hockey. Now, we get to go on the road to win one game. That’s all it is. We have been a great road team all year, and we will go up there and try to win the game.”

It is a simple task in one regard, but the Stars have not scored a 5-on-5 goal in the past three games and had just 11 shots on goal through two periods on Tuesday. The Wild have found a formula to frustrate this team offensively, and that could be a huge hurdle to overcome.

“We have got a lot of zone time in this series, but we have got to find a way,” said forward Mikko Rantanen. “They defend it really well. We had 11 shots after two and they were blocking a bunch of them, and you’ve got to find a way. That’s the difference right now - it's 5-on-5 goals.”

In five games, the Stars have scored nine power play goals, most in the playoffs. However, they have scored just four at even strength. Minnesota, meanwhile, has 14 even strength goals, the third most in the postseason. It has been a topic of conversation for a few days, and Dallas really did feel it had a good plan going into Game 5.

“We all understand the series,” Gulutzan said. “One of the things you can’t do is get frustrated, because that doesn’t help. You just have to stick with it. You create opportunities for yourselves - that’s what we talked about the last two days and, again, we thought we did create some opportunities for ourselves, and now we have to take that next step and convert some of them and hit the net on some of them and create some of that residual.”

Dallas gave up the first goal on a giveaway in the defensive zone just four minutes into the game. Mats Zuccarello, who returned from injury, tapped in a pass from Kirill Kaprizov.

The Stars bounced back and tied the game with their trusty power play, as Miro Heiskanen converted a nice pass from Jason Robertson nine minutes into the first and the score was tied. It stayed that way for almost the entire second period. Minnesota had a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal in the middle frame, and Jake Oettinger was outstanding, but Matt Boldy slipped in a shot from distance – his fourth goal of the series – with 32 seconds left and that put the Wild on top.

Dallas pushed to get more shot chances in the third. But Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt was solid and Minnesota eventually made it 3-1 on another defensive mistake by the Stars.

Robertson got his fifth goal of the playoffs with Oettinger pulled, but then Minnesota added an empty-net goal for the final.

Dallas finished with a 71-50 advantage in shot attempts, but Minnesota had the edge on pucks that reached the goalie at 28-22. The Wild finished with 26 blocks and the Stars had another 21 shots that missed the net.

“It gets frustrating sometimes, but this is really not the time of year to get frustrated,” said Rantanen. “You know you’ve got to just keep plugging away, you’ve got to adapt, try to find a way. There’s no time to be frustrated, that doesn’t help at all.”

The Stars, who have been playing without Roope Hintz (lower-body injury) and lost Nils Lundkvist to a facial laceration in Game 4, also lost Arttu Hyry in Game 5. That means another forward will likely have to jump in for Game 6.

“Injuries happen, it’s a part of the game,” said Heiskanen. “I think we have a great team and great guys out there, so I don’t think it’s a problem.”

And as for the odds being against Dallas, Heiskanen had some advice on that subject, as well.

“Just go out there and give everything you have and enjoy it,” he said. “It’s a fun time of the year. I think you’re playing at your best when you’re having fun, and I think that’s been the key the past couple of years.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.