Stars’ Gulutzan after Game 5 loss: ‘Everyone needs to step up in these kinds of moments’
The Dallas Stars are down but not out following their 4-2 loss in Game 5 at the hands of the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
We’ve known for months that one of the Wild and Stars, two of the NHL’s best teams all season, would be knocked out in the first round given the league’s playoff format and the Colorado Avalanche‘s waltz to the Presidents’ Trophy from the Central Division.
Now, down 3-2 in the series after missing an opportunity to take control on home ice, the Stars will be the ones in a do-or-die situation first.
“Everyone needs to step up in these kinds of moments, your top guys and, you know, your bottom guys,” Gulutzan said. “So it’s a team effort to get it done. That’s the key. If you’re going to win a series or even win multiple series, you need all contributors, whether they’re at the top of your lineup or the bottom. So we need a little bit more from everybody.”
Gulutzan’s group is dealing with numerous injuries, most notably to first-line center Roope Hintz, but is still getting point-per-game production or better from Matt Duchene, Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen and Wyatt Johnston thanks to a power play that has tallied nine times and owns a 39% conversion rate in the series.
While Dallas’ top players are getting the job done on the power play, the entire team has been flailing offensively at 5-on-5. Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine noted after Tuesday’s game that the team’s 5-on-5 scoring drought now spans 187:53.
Stars have not scored a 5v5 goal in 187:53
“So one of the things you can’t do is frustration, because that doesn’t help,” Gulutzan added. “You just got to stick with it. But you create opportunities for yourselves, as we talked about the last two days. We thought we did create some opportunities for ourselves. Now we’ve got to take that next step and convert on some of them and hit the net on some of them and create some of that residual.”
Young Minnesota goaltender Jesper Wallstedt has had the Stars’ number at even strength turning aside 113 of the 116 shots he’s faced at 5-on-5 for a remarkable .974 save percentage.
Game 6 is set for Thursday night in St. Paul for a 7:30 PM EST puck drop as the Wild look to secure their first win in a playoff series since 2015.