Oilers-Stars Game 5 takeaways, an early look at the Game 6 matchup

The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars entered Game 5 with Dallas tied 2-2 in their Western Conference Finals series. The Oilers beat the Stars 3-1 and will head home 3-2 with a chance to close out the series on Sunday.

Here’s what stood out in Edmonton’s win and what to look for in Game 6, including key players for each team.

Oil grade: A

Even the most optimistic supporters of the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals probably never imagined they would dominate the game and outscore the Dallas Stars like they did in Game 5. They limited the Stars to four shots on goal in game five. The first period. Dallas went 9:43 without a shot on goal in the second period.

The Oilers were solid in all three areas, found their killer instinct back on the power play and got all the blocking they needed from Stuart Skinner, who had one of his best games of the postseason.

They squandered a chance to win Game 5 against Vancouver after building a lead. As they have done throughout the playoffs, they learned from their mistakes. “You can’t play well, you can’t play well — you have to play great and you have to do it for a longer period of time than the opposing team was doing,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.

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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scores his second goal for the Oilers

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal to extend the Oilers’ lead.

Star rating: D+

Where was the intensity? Feeding from the crowd? Stepping back after Game 4 where the Oilers dominated, Ekholm said, for 52 minutes of a 60-minute game.

“The first two periods weren’t good enough. We have to produce more, of course. And in the third period, we got some looks, but you were down by three by then,” said midfielder Matt Duchene, who described the Stars’ offense. “Unraveled.”

Coach Pete DeBoer responded harshly when he thought a member of the media was questioning his team’s character after the loss. If only his players showed that much fire.

What we learned in Game 5

That questionable call could change everything. With 6:09 left in the first period, Stars defenseman Ryan Suter gave Connor McDavid a push from behind the wheel near the boards. McDavid hit the ice and the referee pointed across the area for a penalty kick. It was a harsh call that may not amount to a simple penalty in the playoffs.

The Oilers power play was 0-for-6 in the series heading into Game 5. All of which is to say it was deserved. It took Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 18 seconds to make it 1-0. Nuge struck again just 1:06 into the second period after Miro Heiskanen earned a delay-of-game penalty for a 2-0 lead that sucked the wind out of the sails of the Stars — and their home fans.

“If you’re going to draw a road game, that’s pretty much what you want to do, right?” Debord said. “They want to come out, score two strong goals early in the game, get the lead and then defend well all night. So that’s hard to do.”

Players to watch in Game 6

Stuart Skinner. He got plenty of support from a great defensive effort from Edmonton, but don’t sleep on the way Skinner closed the door on the Stars in Game 5 with his 19-save effort.

He robbed Wyatt Johnston on the power play late in the second period and lit up his boards to stop Logan Stankoven’s great chance later in the game.

He’s had a quietly solid series, including 2.2 goals saved above expected in Game 1. He’s given up two or fewer goals in four of the series’ five games. As the stars face elimination, they must find a way to solve Skinner’s problem. You read that correctly.

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Stuart Skinner’s brilliant save keeps the Stars scoreless in the third

Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner disavowed the Stars to keep them scoreless in the third period.

Wyatt Johnston. The only player to beat Skinner in Game 5, Johnston now has 10 postseason goals for Dallas, four more than any teammate.

The second-year forward has the talent for postseason heroics and the Stars could certainly use some with their back against the wall. A power play goal would be nice, as Dallas is 0-for-11 in the series with the man advantage.

How good was it? Johnston becomes the fifth active player to score 10 goals in a playoff game at age 21 or younger, joining Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009), Nikita Kucherov (10 in 2015), Patrick Kane (10 in 2010) and Evgeni Malkin (10 in 2010). 2008).

Big question for game 6: Can the Dallas offense find cohesion?

The Stars averaged 3.59 goals per game in the regular season. They have scored two or fewer goals in their three conference finals losses.

The Stars don’t play as a five-man unit, Duchene said. “It seemed like we were on our heels too much,” he said. “Sometimes when you want something so bad, you want to try to be so perfect.”

If the Stars can’t find that chemistry, they’ll have all summer to ponder what happened to a very good offensive team.