Dallas Stars Miss Chances, One Loss Away From Offseason
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars had some golden chances early, but collapsed as game five went along against the St. Louis Blues. They are now one game from elimination.
If you had only watched the first period of the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues game five matchup on Saturday, you probably would have been convinced that the Stars would grab their third win and be one win from closing out the series. Sadly, the other two periods had a say in the final result, and the Stars fell 4-1.
After scooping up a confident win in overtime on the road in game four, the Stars could not pull out the W in game five and are now one loss from facing a busy offseason. Post game wrap up is below.
Game recap
The Dallas Stars started out at an electric pace, controlling play and hemming the Blues in their own zone. After Robby Fabbri got a lucky bounce off a skate and scored to take the 1-0 lead for the Blues, Alex Goligoski quickly scored moments later to tie the game at 1-1.
While the Stars would continue piecing together moments of effort and partially controlling the flow of the game, the Blues would get goals from Dmitrij Jaskin, Troy Brouwer, and an empty netter from Paul Stastny to seal the 4-1 victory, clinching a third win in the series for St. Louis.
Thoughts and Observations
So this is what panic feels like
The Dallas Stars are now down 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals and are one game away from elimination from the playoffs and a long offseason. Let the panicking begin.
The Stars have fought hard this series and it seems odd that they are now so close to heading home for good. Traveling to St. Louis in a must-win scenario in game six presents no easy task for Dallas, and after today’s game, the Blues may have enough momentum to send the Stars home on an extremely low note in game six. Then again, Dallas could use desperation to their advantage.
Who knows what will happen on Monday night, but one thing is for sure: the Stars are in danger mode from here on out.
Brian Elliott leading the charge
The Blues may have found some luck in the game that helped them score four goals, but Brian Elliott is the only reason that the Dallas Stars did not have four of their own. Elliott made some key stops in game five that gave the Blues the slight advantage.
Elliott has started all 12 postseason games that the Blues have played this year, and has won three of five against the Stars. Throughout five games, he has stopped 148 of 158 shots from Dallas, and has posted a 1.92 goals against average and a .937 save percentage. If he plays like he has been this series on Monday night, the Stars will have some real trouble securing a road win.
Special teams still plagued
The referees in game five were by no means perfect. There were plenty of hi-sticks, crosschecks, and interference calls that were missed, and the traditional “Ref you suck” chants broke out several times during the game.
But it seems as though the Stars may be better off without any more power plays this series. Dallas went 0/2 on the power play in Saturday’s game and have only capitalized once on 15 chances. Converting on the man advantage is key to winning hockey games, and the Dallas Stars continue to look lost when they should be scoring.
More stars: Stars Must Turn Kiss Of Insult Into Kiss Of Death
Breathe easy until Monday
The Dallas Stars are now facing elimination from what looked like such a promising and triumphant season, and that is making a lot of fans nervous. But do not lose sleep over this. Lindy Ruff talks over and over again about how proud he is of this team for bouncing back in tough situations.
Next: Perseverance Driving Stars To Cup Contention
Well, here is the toughest situation of the season. We will have to see if the boys are up to the test, but that is not until Monday night. So take it easy from now until then. They still have an opportunity to win this series. It’s just going to take a little more effort this time. Get ready for an intense game six.