Dallas Stars Win Game 5 against Minnesota Wild, Stars on brink of advancing in Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Dallas Stars took the series lead against the Minnesota Wild for the first time with a convincing 4-0 win in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Tyler Seguin and Jason Robertson played a significant role, each scoring a power-play goal and adding an assist, while Roope Hintz had three assists for the second consecutive game.
Jake Oettinger's 27 saves earned him his second career playoff shutout, with his crucial stops on the Wild's back-to-back power plays in the second period.
Seguin's fourth power-play goal of the series came early in the game, only eight seconds after Wild forward Marcus Foligno was ejected for a knee-on-knee hit on Radek Faksa. Mason Marchment and Ty Dellandrea also scored for the Stars in the second period and the third period, respectively.
The Stars can close out the first-round playoff series with a win in Game 6 at Minnesota on Friday night. If needed, the seventh game would be played on Sunday in Dallas.
The absence of Joe Pavelski due to concussion protocol has paved the way for Seguin to move up to the top line with Robertson and Hintz. Seguin is the only Stars player with a Stanley Cup title, which he won as a rookie with Boston in 2011. Seguin's four power-play goals in a single playoff series make him the first player in Stars franchise history to achieve this feat.
Hintz's 11 points, including four goals and seven assists, are the most in a single playoff series for Dallas. The team has nine power-play goals in the series, while Minnesota failed to capitalize on their three power-play opportunities in Game 5.