The top-seeded Dallas Stars missed a golden opportunity to close out their Western Conference first-round series as they dropped Game 5 at home to the Minnesota Wild in overtime. The Stars must now travel all the way back up north to get another crack at the Wild, who have rediscovered their offense despite missing a couple of key forwards.
Get a better sense of Game 6 between these two teams with our preview below. Meanwhile, find out more about the East’s top overall seed with our preview of the Caps vs. Flyers Game 6.
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Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild Game 6 Preview
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul
When: Sunday, April 24, 3:00 PM ET
Line: Dallas Stars (-125) at Minnesota Wild (+105); total 5.0 – view all NHL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the Dallas Stars
Offense has never been a problem for the Stars. They were the highest scoring team in the regular season, averaging 3.2 goals per game. And even without second-leading scorer Tyler Seguin against the Wild, they’ve still be able to produce enough chances. They outshot the Wild, 41-24, in Game 5.
But after Niemi surrendered five goals of his own on just 24 shots in Game 5, head coach Lindy Ruff might be leaning toward bringing Lehtonen back for Game 6. Lehtonen stopped 47 of 48 shots in Games 1 and 2, and will be well-rested following his layoff.
As questionable as the Dallas goaltending is, though, the Stars’ attack just has more weapons than the Wild’s, which was a mediocre 15th in scoring in the regular season. Jamie Benn, who finished second in the league with 89 points, has been excellent in the series with three goals and seven points, while Jason Spezza (33 goals, 63 points) also has three goals and five points.
Betting on the Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are still alive, and they have their revitalized offense to thank. After scoring just once in the first two games, the Wild – who are missing top forwards Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek – have exploded for 12 goals in their last three, five coming in their 5-4 overtime win in Game 5.
Captain Mikko Koivu was the hero in Game 5 as he scored both the game-tying goal in the third period and the game-winning goal in overtime. But the much bigger reason for the Wild’s revival has been Jason Pominville, who has six points in the last three games. He had two more points in Game 5, the second time his multi-point game has resulted in a Wild win.
The Wild didn’t get a single power play opportunity in Game 5, the first time that’s happened in franchise history. But they really haven’t needed a man advantage to get their goals. 11 of their 13 goals this series have come via 5-on-5. Meanwhile, their penalty kill has done a reasonably good job handling a Stars special teams that converted 22.1 percent of power plays, fourth in the NHL.
However, the play of goalie Devan Dubnyk is a bit concerning. Dubnyk, who has started every game of the series thus far, has a mediocre .892 save percentage.
Writer’s Prediction
The Stars (-125) close out the series by winning a 4-3 shootout.
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