The Dallas Stars will play the Edmonton Oilers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, as each team will attempt to take a commanding 3-2 series.
Dallas is coming off a Game 4 in which they had a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game before giving up five unanswered goals in the remaining 54 minutes of action.
Stars Coach Pete DeBoer spoke about the quick start that resulted in a loss after the game, telling reporters, “The rest of the game they were the better team. That’s the bottom line,” per the NHL.
The Stars finished the NHL season with the seventh-best home record at 26-11-4, and they will face off against an Oilers team that struggled to win games while playing on the road, per Statmuse.
Edmonton finished the regular season with a 21-18-2 record while playing on another team’s home ice, giving them the 12th-best record in the league.
However, regular-season records have not always been indicative of playoff outcomes, as the Stars have only managed to go 4-5 on their home ice, while the Oilers have a record of 5-3 on the road during the postseason, per the NHL.
Securing a victory in Game 5 is important for both teams. History says the team that jumps to a 3-2 lead wins the overall series the vast majority of the time.
Of the 448 total series in NHL history to be 3-2 at any point, the team with the advantage has come out on top 79% of the time; those teams also ended the series 56% of the time in Game 6, according to Champs or Chumps.
The key to victory in this game will come from power play opportunities, as neither team has been able to succeed in this series during their power plays.
Dallas has yet to score a goal during their power play opportunities through the first four games of this series despite having nine opportunities with an additional man on the ice.
Similarly, they have also managed to kill off all six of the advantages gained by the Oilers during the series, holding them scoreless during their power plays.
Dallas will enter Game 5 with just one significant injury to take into account, as defenseman Chris Tanev is currently listed as day-to-day on the injury report after blocking a shot during the second period in Game 4.
Tanev could not return to the ice following his injury in Game 4, and it remains unclear whether he will be available to suit up for the pivotal game on May 31.