What a difference two games make, huh?
After Game 3, the Dallas Stars were down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights and were considered to be dead men walking. Now they’ve won two in a row, including a strong Game 5 victory, and get a final home game to try and force Game 7. Oh, and they’re getting captain Jamie Benn back as well.
If you’re a proponent of momentum, you have to feel good about Dallas’ odds for tonight. Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger are buzzing. The depth forwards had a field day in Game 5. The Golden Knights look like a team that might be in the middle of a historic collapse.
Then again, Vegas had all the momentum heading into Game 4 and lost. The same could happen to the Stars, especially if Vegas, once again, has a strong start and gets an early lead. There’s no easy games in the playoffs – Dallas had to come out tonight in full force if they want to secure the win.
Dallas Stars Lineup
Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Joe Pavelsi (16)
Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Tyler Seguin (91)
Mason Marchment (27) – Max Domi (18) – Ty Dellandrea (10)
Joel Kiviranta (25) – Radek Faksa (12) – Luke Glendening (11)
Ryan Suter (20) – Miro Heiskanen (4)
Thomas Harley (55) — Joel Hanley (44)
Esa Lindell (23) – Jani Hakanpää (2)
Jake Oettinger (29)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
With Jamie Benn set to return, someone has to come out. Though they had an optional morning skate, it seems likely that the odd man out would be Frederik Olofsson. That would probably leave us with the above lineup, save for possibly Mason Marchment and Joel Kiviranta flipped.
It’s worth noting that there is a small chance (and I mean small) that Marchment gets the scratch instead of Olofsson, given his performance and minimized ice time – only Olofsson played fewer minutes in Game 5. In that case, Olofsson likely stays on the fourth and Joel Kiviranta on the third, just like in Game 5.
Mr. Elimination Game, a.k.a. Jake Oettinger, is in net, of course.
Vegas Golden Knights Lineup
Ivan Barbashev (49) – Jack Eichel (9) – Jonathan Marchessault (81)
Reilly Smith (19) – William Karlsson (71) – Nicolas Roy (10)
Michael Amadio (22) – Chandler Stephenson (20) – Mark Stone (61)
William Carrier (28) – Brett Howden (21) – Keegan Kolesar (55)
Alec Martinez (23) – Alex Pietrangelo (7)
Brayden McNabb (3) – Shea Theodore (27)
Nicolas Hague (14) – Zach Whitecloud (2)
Adin Hill (33)
Jonathan Quick (32)
Michael Amadio returned to the lineup in Game 5 after missing six games due to injury. That bumped Brett Howden down to the fourth line, and Teddy Blueger out of the lineup entirely. It’s possible Bruce Cassidy tinkers with the forward combinations, but I would expect those 12 to remain the same.
Adin Hill, who has been fantastic all season long, will start once again for Vegas.
Keys to the Game
The Return of the Captain. All eyes will be on Jamie Benn, who returns to the ice for the first time since less than two minutes into Game 3. Does Vegas try and target Benn in any way as revenge for his cross-check? Does Benn lose his physical edge in a concentrated effort to stay clean? Each shift with Benn on the ice will warrant your full attention (not that you playoff hockey doesn’t deserve it to begin with, mind you).
Net-Front Presence. A recurring theme throughout the series has been that in each game, one team has been forced to mostly take shots from the perimeter while the other has been able to get in close to the goaltender and get some higher-danger scoring chances. Guess which one usually wins.
Keeping the Lead. Here’s a (not so) fun fact: outside of Game 3, whoever scores first has gone on to lose each game this series. And outside of Game 3, no team had held a two-goal lead until Dallas did more than halfway through the third period of Game 5. Whoever takes the first lead needs to prioritize not just holding onto their lead, but extending it as well. Every goal counts.