NHL Playoffs 2023: Top Storylines for May 13 Schedule
The Dallas Stars can become the third team to clinch a spot in the conference final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a Game 6 win over the Seattle Kraken.
Dallas enters Saturday's game (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) with a 5-0 record in Game 4 and beyond in the 2023 postseason.
The Stars are on a two-game winning streak over the Kraken, and they won the final three games of their first-round series with the Minnesota Wild.
Seattle is facing elimination for the second time this postseason. The Kraken won Game 7 in the first round against the Colorado Avalanche by holding the reigning Stanley Cup champion to one goal.
Dallas comes into Climate Pledge Arena with the series edge in most aspects of the game, but Seattle could rely on some of its more experienced skaters to send the series back to Dallas for a Game 7.
Dallas Holds Edge in Every Facet of Series
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Dallas comes into Seattle with an edge in every area of the series after its wins in Games 4 and 5.
The Stars put 11 goals past Philipp Grubauer, while Jake Oettinger limited the Kraken to five tallies.
Dallas just needs to follow the blueprint from the start of Game 5 to put Seattle under all sorts of pressure.
The Stars scored the first three goals, and they contained Seattle's response by not allowing a goal in the final 33 minutes.
Seattle got back into Game 5 with a pair of second-period tallies, but it was unable to beat Oettinger, who has a .907 save percentage in the postseason.
Dallas has an in-form netminder and two of the five best playoff goal scorers in Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, who have 15 goals between them.
Hintz is one point behind Connor McDavid's playoff-leading total of 19. He should be at the center of many chances on Saturday night.
Dallas closed out its last series with a 4-1 road win over the Wild to finish off a three-game winning streak.
The Stars could use their mixture of top-end star power in front of goal and Oettinger's strong postseason in net to finish off the Kraken and advance to their second Western Conference Final in four seasons.
Seattle Needs Stars to Emerge from Scoring Depth
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Seattle has not had one dominant figure emerge in the series, like Dallas has had with Hintz and Pavelski.
Twelve Kraken players have a goal in the series, and nine skaters attempted at least nine shots on goal.
Seattle should not totally abandon its well-rounded approach. That's the formula that got the Kraken to this spot in the postseason.
But what the Kraken need is one or two of those players to emerge as Game 6 stars to counter whatever Dallas' top line produces.
Oliver Bjorkstrand was that player in Game 7 against Colorado, as he scored twice on six shot attempts.
The Kraken have a single multi-goal performance in the series from Jaden Schwartz in a losing effort in Game 4.
Bjorkstrand could be the big-game star again, or it could be Schwartz, who is one of the few players with Stanley Cup-winning experience from his time prior to Seattle.
The series stats suggest Seattle's potential Game 6 star will be one of its older players. Five players 30 years or older have multiple goals and at least nine shots on target.
Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Justin Schultz, Adam Larsson and Schwartz produced those numbers.
Gourde could end up as the biggest impact player on the Seattle roster. He had two assists in Game 7 against Colorado, and he possesses one of the most experienced resumes on the Kraken roster from his two title wins with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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