Gameday Preview: Stars at Oklahoma City Barons, Game 5

Texas Stars
43-22-5-6, 97 pts
#1 Western Conference
atOklahoma City Barons
40-25-2-9, 91 pts
#5 Western Conference
OKC leads 3-1

May 16th at 7:00 PM
Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK

It's down to this. Forty-three wins and ninety-seven points in the regular season. First seed in the West. Coach of the year. Plus-109 overall as a team. 235 goals. Tonight, none of that matters. Like that scene in "Rocky", Texas only has to do one thing: win.

It's beside the point that they also have to win on Monday and Tuesday now as well, because all that matters today is winning tonight, Thursday. If they don't, it's all for naught and the season will be quite a disappointment.

Coach Desjardins shuffled the lineup last night and it worked for a while. The first goal came with Justin Dowling out centering Reilly Smith and Brett Ritchie. Later, he shuffled power play lines, putting Petersen out with Ritchie and Hedden.

Texas just seemed to have the wind knocked out of them by the third goal. They were being outshot 12-1 halfawy through the third and were outshot 18-5 overall in the period, despite a power play and some 6-on-5 time.

Does Desjardins change up his lineup? Maybe. I don't think that Nilstorp sits. He has been a rock in the playoffs but is getting hung out to dry by his defensemen. Anything that Nilstorp has, he has. Anything that generates a rebound is fair game for a Barons' skater. Too many goals came off the rebound last night for Texas' defense to feel comfortable with the game.

What else can be said? Win or go home. It's that simple.

Stars injury/call up report:
Nemeth (injury)

Website: okcbarons.com
Blog (unofficial): NewsOK's Barons Hockey
Twitter: @OKCBaronsHockey

Comments

  1. The AHL has mud on thier faces for changinging the playoff formatt and this happening. To compond it they could of made up the travel funds simply from the Texas gate vs. the OKC gate. Texas has no excusses however. I'm not going to watch or listen out of discust from the last two games.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What does the league have to do with this. We are being beaten both on the road, and at home by these guys. This comes down to play plain and simple nothing else.
    I felt that this matchup may not favor us, as Danis has been consistently done well against us. Steve

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree that Nilstorp should remain in the game. He has been outstanding thus far. I just hope that he can shake off last night so it doesn't bother him. I want to see the Stars come out fighting and own the pace of play. When you look at the games the Stars won they came out in the first period playing their game of hitting hard and keeping the puck on the opposing side of the ice. I think the defense needs to step up. Jamie and Benn should be slamming OKC into glass and punishing anyone for coming near Nilstorp. Steven is right, all we have is tonight. Forget about trying to pull off a three game miracle and fight for a winning season tonight. Don't let this end away in a 4-1 series. Win tonight and come home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. real fans will watch no matter what. GO STARS GO.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ohhh please teach me to be as good of a fan as you. Please...

    Four years and haven't missed a home game. Can you say that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BTWreal fans don't post as anonymous.

      Delete
    2. "Anonymous" isn't necessarily a bad thing. E.g. while I'm at work, I can't log into any of the "reply as" options, so pretty much have to go "anonymous", plus it's not a good idea to post using my real name from work anyway. Those who know me will recognize "Team Mom".

      Delete
    3. (BTW, I was NOT the "anonymous" who posted above.)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting. Remember to keep it civil. Using a name will help us identify replies and build a Texas Stars community.