The ups and downs of home ice advantage

So far in the playoffs this season home teams are 12-20. That's astounding.
With the regular season battle to secure home ice, one would think teams would gain some sort of advantage. But the First Round of the playoffs brings some special circumstances, Stars coach Pete DeBoer said, which can cause teams to play differently.

"I honestly think early in a series, I've said this before, starting at home is tougher," DeBoer said of the extra pressure on the home team. "I think as the series goes on there's no doubt home ice is more of an advantage."

The Stars are hoping that's true on Tuesday as Game 5 in the best-of-seven series with the Minnesota Wild is at American Airlines Center. In addition to the league numbers on the playoffs, the Stars were a better team on the road during the regular season. Dallas had a 22-10-9 (.646) record at home and was 25-11-5 (.671) on the road. It was plus-27 in goal differential at home and plus-39 on the road. Both the goaltending and the power play were even better on the road.
Still, if you want some good numbers, the Stars have played their best hockey in this series at home.
Dallas came out of the gate slow in Game 1, but then dominated the third period and overtime and still lost 3-2 in the second overtime. Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson pretty much stole that game, and then the Stars jumped all over Marc-André Fleury in a 7-3 win in Game 2. While Dallas is 1-1 at both barns so far, their numbers are much better at the AAC. Dallas has outscored Minnesota 4.5 to 3.0 at home and has been outscored 2.0 to 3.5 on the road. The power play has been good in both spots, but the most telling stat might be shots on goal. Dallas leads the league in two games at home with 42.0 per game and is plus-5 overall in shots at home. The Stars are dead last on the road at 24.0 and are minus 5.5 away from home.
"We would like to say the home ice makes a difference," said forward Tyler Seguin, who scored two goals on the road in Game 4. "I thought we played great in Game 1 and honestly deserved to win. But you get down early, and then you're chasing it. Now, it's taken a lot to get [home ice] back, so we don't want to let it slip again."
Forward Max Domi said the players aren't really caught up in leaguewide trends and are more dialed into specific challenges for their series. He said the key for the Stars right now is that Game 5 is at home and the Stars need a win.
"We went 1-1 last time we were home, but it's behind us now and we're just worried about one game," Domi said. "You look around the league and the atmosphere in a lot of these rinks is incredible. Home ice is one thing, but it's a lot of fun to play on the road too."

The winner of Game 5 will have a huge advantage, and Dallas has two of the potential final three games in the series at home, so they do want to take advantage of that. The Stars have had a lively crowd all year, and that should fuel the energy in the arena. Both sides have walked the line of emotion when it comes to penalties, and Dallas players say they have to continue to do that in Game 5. The Stars are second in the league in power play success at 43.8 percent, so the key is to play hard, draw penalties and don't get caught up in Minnesota's physical play.
"There's a line you don't want to cross, but you want to get close to it," Domi said. "It's like a chess match out there and you don't want to make the wrong move, because that can obviously change the momentum of the game, and the series, too."
And doing that at home might be easier.
"I'll tell you," DeBoer said. "If you lined up all of the coaches in the NHL and asked them if they would rather play 5 and 7 at home or on the road, I don't care what the records are, you'll take 5 and 7 at home."
Key Numbers
86
Minnesota is second in the playoffs in blocked shots with 86 (18.95 per game). The Wild ranked seventh during the regular season with 1,318 (15.8 per game)
8
Stars forward Roope Hintz ranks third in playoff scoring with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in four games.
17
Minnesota forward Matt Boldy ranks seventh in the playoffs with 17 shots on goal.
He said it
"It was a great step. He came down yesterday and skated with the extra guys, kind of the first time in a group setting, and this is the next step today with our group. He's starting to get close. You can see his excitement and then, him just being around, the excitement of our group."
- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on the fact Joe Pavelski skated with the team at the morning skate before Game 5. Pavelski, who left Game 1 after a big hit and is currently in concussion protocol, won't play on Tuesday, but he is getting closer, DeBoer said.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Marchment-Domi-Dellandrea
Kiviranta-Faksa-Glendening
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Hakanpää
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
Wedgewood
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 Twitter @MikeHeika