Stars take down Kraken in Game 5, take 3-2 series lead

The Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken entered Game 5 of their second-round series even at two wins apiece. With one team destined to face elimination in Game 6, this was a critical game for both teams.

In the first period, the Kraken had a sizeable advantage in the shot department, yet it was the Stars that were feeling good after 20 minutes.

Offensively, Dallas notched a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Defensively, goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped all 14 shots that he faced in the opening frame. Getting him back on track was important.

When the second period began and the Stars added to their lead, it looked as though we might be in for another lopsided contest. The Kraken, though, were not about to go down without a fight.

Seattle scored the next two goals of the game, turning a would-be blowout into a one-goal game entering the third period.

In the third, it took a while to get another goal, but eventually, Roope Hintz buried his second goal of the contest to make it 4-2 Stars. Dallas added an empty net goal a few minutes later to ice the game.

With a 3-2 series lead, they’ll have a chance to advance to the Western Conference Final the next time these two teams meet.

Hintz led the way for the Stars with three points in this game. He is now tied with Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl for the league lead in points this postseason (18).

Oettinger, as I mentioned earlier, looked good in this game. This was exactly the time of game that he needed after being pulled in Game 3 and looking shaky in Game 4.

For the Kraken, Philipp Grubauer was once again not good enough to steal a game for his team. The rest of the team, though, played a decent game, and forward Jared McCann scored his first goal of the playoffs while playing 17:33 in his second game back from injury.

This Stars win marks the first time a team has won back-to-back games in this series.

These two clubs will next meet on Saturday night in Seattle, Washington for Game 6. A win for the Kraken would push the series to a deciding Game 7. A Dallas victory will clinch a trip to the Western Conference Final. Puck-drop will be at 9:30 PM and can be seen on ESPN.