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3 Keys: Stars at Oilers, Game 6 of Western Conference Final | NHL.com
2. Feeding off frenzy
Rogers Place is a raucous atmosphere all the time, but it will be especially boisterous in Game 6. The Oilers want to take advantage of the crazed home crowd, but they also don’t want to get too caught up in the emotions.
“They’re always bringing lots of energy. I’m sure they’ll be excited tonight, but you can definitely feed off it,” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said. “It definitely brings good energy. “It’s exciting. We love playing in front of our fans. Yeah, we’re excited for the opportunity to bring them a little joy.”
3. Get going fast
The Stars had a tough start to Game 5, not just on the penalty kill but also in other facets, including an inability to generate offense. They’ve got to leave it all out there in Game 6, and that’s what they intend to do.
“We want to go out there and play aggressive,” Dallas captain Jamie Benn said. “Obviously, [we] need to stay out of the box. They’ve got five guys that can work that power play pretty good. It’s not always easy staying out of the box with some of their players, but we’re going to do our best and 5-on-5 we want to probably play a little more aggressive, get our forecheck going early and see where that takes us.”
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Tyler Seguin
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Logan Stankoven
Mavrik Bourque — Sam Steel — Evgenii Dadonov
Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley — Chris Tanev
Ryan Suter — Alex Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Lian Bichsel, Radek Faksa, Ty Dellandrea, Nils Lundkvist, Derrick Pouliot, Craig Smith
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Ryan McLeod — Leon Draisaitl — Corey Perry
Dylan Holloway — Adam Henrique — Evander Kane
Mattias Janmark — Derek Ryan — Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Brett Kulak
Philip Broberg — Cody Ceci
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Sam Carrick, Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele, Sam Gagner
Injured: Troy Stecher (ankle)
Status report
Each team held an optional morning skate Sunday. … The Stars will make one change to their lineup from Game 5, with Bourque coming in for Dellandrea. It will be Bourque’s debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; he hasn’t played since making his NHL debut April 6. … Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said he would also alter his lineup but wouldn’t specify. Edmonton is expected to have Ryan center the fourth line in place of Carrick, a forward … Stecher, a defenseman, had surgery to remove a cyst on his ankle that got infected and is out for the remainder of the playoffs.