The Predators and the Stars are tied at 2-2. Who will take this must-win Game 5 at Bridgestone Arena? Dallas Stars The Stars shone brightly on Wednesday. Power play goals put Dallas up in the game and Nashville had no answer. Mats Zuccarello has three goals in four playoff games for Dallas. John Klingberg has five assists, and Miro Heiskanen has a goal and an assist. The much-loathed Alexander Radulov has two goals and an assist. The Stars are currently dominating the special teams game in this series. They remain disciplined and manage to capitalize on power plays when a Predator inevitably is whistled for a minor penalty. That has to change today. Finally, Nashville didn’t really force Ben Bishop to work too hard on Wednesday. He rarely had to move to make a save. The Predators can capitalize if they force Bishop to move around in net and navigate around screens. Nashville Predators The Predators were shelled from every angle early in Game 4. With Pekka Rinne on the bench, Juuse Saros stood tall and withstood the continued onslaught of Dallas chances while the Nashville defense sort of skated around in their zone. Roman Josi scored the only goal of the game. The big-name guys need to start scoring. Mikael Granlund needs to add another, and Viktor Arvidsson, Craig Smith, Ryan Johansen, and Filip Forsberg need to shoot the lights out and get some pucks past Ben Bishop. Brian Boyle and Wayne Simmonds are unknowns. Boyle just had surgery and Simmonds took a puck to the knee. While they skated with the team on Friday, their status is questionable for today’s game. The current fourth line has provided some speed in the form of Miikka Salomaki, Calle Jarnkrok, and Rocco Grimaldi. Grimaldi has been the story of the series, scoring twice in two games, but received another maintenance day Friday. In short, we need a consistent 60-minute effort from every single player. The locker room should not even consider trying to go back to Dallas in Game 6 down a game. Keep Your Eye on This Guy Viktor Arvidsson. He’s perpetually zooming around the ice, but he’s been worked over by the bigger Dallas players in front of Ben Bishop fighting him for positioning. It’s time for a big game for #33. Arvidsson has the skill and the grit to get around Dallas’s defense. If he can force Ben Bishop to actually make saves, Arvidsson should have a few goals in his back pocket by dinnertime tonight. Today’s Theme Song Nirvana didn’t work so well the other night. I’m going back to country music today. Today’s theme song is “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. Today’s Drink of Choice Some Larceny bourbon, neat. We need Pekka Rinne to refuse every shot and we need the boys in goal to secure a massive Game 5 at home in front of 17,000+ screaming fans. How to Watch Today’s game is at 2:00 Central. The game will be on NBC. 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.<doc-sep>EditorsNote: rewords fifth graf Slideshow ( 35 images ) Mikael Granlund’s goal midway through the third period broke a deadlock, and Pekka Rinne sparkled in net as the visiting Nashville Predators claimed a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night and took the lead in their opening round Western Conference playoff series. The Stars had all the momentum, and not just because they had erased a two-goal deficit, when Granlund sent a long wrist shot that somehow beat Ben Bishop with 8:19 left on the clock. The Predators held on the rest of the way thanks to Rinne to take a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series. Rinne made 40 saves, including a mammoth stop on Jamie Benn right after the Stars made it a 2-2 game. Game 4 will be Wednesday in Dallas. After a scoreless yet action-packed first period, Nashville’s Rocco Grimaldi opened the scoring at 3:29 of the middle frame with the kind of goal Bishop doesn’t often surrender. Grimaldi, a scratch in the series opener, shot from the side boards and it banked into the net off the inside of Bishop’s arm. It was the second goal in as many games for Grimaldi. Despite Dallas controlling play -- thanks in large part to an 89-second, five-on-three power play -- Filip Forsberg doubled the Nashville lead at 14:35 of the second when he received a long-bomb pass and converted a deke. The Stars kept pushing and were rewarded when Mats Zuccarello put them on the board with 2:49 remaining in the middle period. He converted a breakaway of his own for his second goal of the playoffs. Then Tyler Seguin tied the game with 11:45 remaining in regulation. While his linemates Benn and Alexander Radulov won the puck in a rugby scrum behind the net, Seguin cruised untouched into the crease and one-timed a feed to make it a 2-2 game. Bishop stopped 25 shots for Dallas. Before the game, the Predators announced both Wayne Simmonds (lower body) and Brian Boyle (appendix procedure) would be out of action on a week-to-week basis. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>Alexander Radulov and Jason Dickinson each scored two goals as the visiting Dallas Stars earned a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Slideshow ( 61 images ) The win gives Dallas a 3-2 edge in the series, putting the Stars a victory away from advancing to the second round for just the second time in 11 seasons. The Central Division-winning Predators, meanwhile, are in danger of missing the second round for the first time in four seasons. Jamie Benn had three assists for the Stars, while Tyler Seguin contributed a goal and an assist. The top line of Radulov, Benn, and Seguin combined for 16 of the Stars’ 26 total shots on Saturday. The trio has 16 total points in the series. After scoring just nine goals in 105 career regular-season NHL games, Dickinson emerged as an unlikely offensive force with the first two playoff points of his young career. Rocco Grimaldi, Ryan Johansen, and Kyle Turris scored for the Predators, while Roman Josi contributed two assists. The Predators opened the scoring 6:25 into the game on Grimaldi’s third goal of the series. Despite missing Game 1 due to an upper-body injury, Grimaldi is Nashville’s leading scorer of the playoffs. After Dickinson equalized at 13:08 of the first period, Radulov’s two second-period goals gave the Stars a lead that they would never relinquish. Radulov last scored twice in a playoff game on April 11, 2007 in his very first postseason appearance. Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 26 Dallas shots. It was the second consecutive tough game for Rinne, who was pulled less than 14 minutes into Game 4 after giving up four goals on eight shots. Ben Bishop saved 30 of 33 shots for Dallas. Bishop was named as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender earlier on Saturday. The Stars can clinch the series on home ice by winning Game 6 on Monday in Dallas. If necessary, Game 7 will be played on April 24 in Nashville. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>For the second time in the first round of this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, a No. 1 seed suffered a fatal blow from a No. 8 seed on Friday night, with the Western Conference-leading Calgary Flames falling victim to the Colorado Avalanche. On Saturday, as NHL postseason action continues, there were more upsets in the works. The Dallas Stars picked up their second straight win with a strong performance on Saturday afternoon in Nashville, giving them a chance to close out the series next week in their own building. The St. Louis Blues certainly didn't enter the playoff picture as overlooked as the Avs or Columbus Blue Jackets, who had their own first-round stunner vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they built on an improbable second-half turnaround by ousting the Jets in their opening round series with a Game 6 win on Saturday night. The Capitals and Hurricanes also got back on ice and it was once again a story of home ice advantage. The Capitals routed the Canes by a 6-0 margin to take a 3-2 series lead back to Carolina. The home team has won every game in this series so far. Be sure to keep it locked right here at CBS Sports for updates throughout the weekend. NHL playoff schedule for Saturday, April 20 NHL playoff schedule for Sunday, April 21 Game 6: Bruins at Maple Leafs (TOR leads 3-2), 3 p.m. ET, NBC Game 6: Sharks at Golden Knights (VGK leads 3-2), 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN Capitals pour it on Saturday's NHL nightcap is a relentless blowout, as the Capitals just keep taking it to the Hurricanes on home ice in Washington. After Tom Wilson kicked off the third period with a power-play goal, Nic Dowd got his first tally of the playoffs with a silky move on a penalty shot. Then, Alex Ovechkin added a power-play goal of his own just two seconds into a man-advantage about halfway through the period. That strike (Ovechkin's third of the playoffs) made it 6-0 Washington. Oh no, Dougie The Capitals are still in command of Game 5 against the Hurricanes, and they've got a 3-0 lead heading into the final period. The third Washington goal came with a lot of help from Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who decided to put on the brakes during a race to a loose puck, allowing Alexander Ovechkin to set up Brett Connolly. It appears Hamilton thought the play would be ruled an icing, but ... yikes. Not a great look when you're trying to mount a comeback in a crucial game. He'll want that one back. Jets have late push, but it's not enough The Jets are done. After the Blues jumped out to a 3-0 lead, Winnipeg made a late push in the third period and at least gave us an interesting finish. They scored two goals in the final frame and Bryan Little cut the deficit to one with 38 seconds remaining, but it was too little too late for the Jets. As a result, the Blues are moving on. Caps grab early lead After losing two straight in Carolina, the Capitals came out with a fantastic first period of Game 5 in Washington. Nicklas Backstrom gave the Caps an early lead on the power play when he buried his own rebound through the five-hole of Petr Mrazek. That goal is very good news for the Capitals, as the team that has scored first has won each of the four previous games in this series. Mayday, mayday The Jets ... do not look good. In the third period in St. Louis, the Blues lead 3-0 and Jaden Schwartz has all three goals, giving him the last four in the series. He's become a monster. Meanwhile, Winnipeg came into the period with just six shots on net through the first 40 minutes of action, registering just one shot in the entire second period. Not exactly the level of play you want with your season on the line. They've got one more period to get it together or else they'll be hitting the golf course soon. Another quick start How many times have we seen a goal within the first 90 seconds of play during these playoffs? The answer: A lot. And we got another example on Saturday night when the Blues got on the board just 23 seconds into their Game 6 matchup against the Jets. It was Jaden Schwartz who got credit for the tally as he buried a rolling puck in the crease behind Connor Hellebuyck. That's certainly not the start the Jets were looking for as they look to keep their season alive on the road, but the Blues are looking to end this thing without having to play a do-or-die Game 7. Dallas heads home with a chance to advance We've already had a few upsets in the first round of the playoffs, so what's one more? After a shaky start on Saturday, the Stars finished strong and wrapped up a 5-3 win in Nashville to push the Predators to the brink of elimination. Dallas will head back home leading the series 3-2, giving them a chance to close out the series in their own building and bounce the Predators from the playoffs after just one round. Seguin line taking over for Dallas The Stars' top line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alex Radulov dominated for Dallas in the second period of this game. Just 40 seconds in, Seguin found Radulov with a phenomenal pass that allowed Dallas to take a 2-1 lead. Seven minutes later, Benn made a strong play to win a battle in the corner, shrugging off Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis before setting up Radulov with a great no-look centering pass. Finally, Benn and Seguin connected on a goal as they furiously pushed play coast-to-coast. Ryan Johansen added a goal for the Preds, but it was almost all Dallas -- specifically one line -- doing work in the middle frame. Rocco rolls The Nashville Predators got off to the start they were looking for on Saturday afternoon.<doc-sep>
DALLAS — With a chance to clinch a playoff series at home for the first time in 11 years, the Dallas Stars needed overtime again. They didn’t need quite as many this time, and won’t have to go back to Music City. John Klingberg scored from the left circle 17:02 into overtime after a cross-ice pass from Alexander Radulov, and the Stars beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 to wrap up their first-round Western Conference playoff series in six games. “We wanted to close it out today and don’t have to deal with going back there,” said Klingberg, whose first goal of the playoffs came after five assists in the series. “We treated it like a Game 7.” The last time the Stars clinched a playoff series on home ice was in 2008, when they needed four overtimes for a 2-1 win over San Jose in a second-round series. “To do it in overtime in that fashion, what an exciting time for our fans,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “They were loud and brought a lot of extra energy for us in overtime.” The Stars, with rookie coach Jim Montgomery, won three consecutive games to close out the Predators. Dallas will play St. Louis in the second round of the playoffs, just like its previous post-season appearance three years ago. The Blues, who have home-ice advantage this time, won that 2016 series with a Game 7 win in Dallas. Ben Bishop, Vezina Trophy finalist, had a playoff career-high 47 saves for the Stars. “Obviously our best player once again is Bish. He’s just keeping us in the game,” Klingberg said. “We slowly, second period, third period and overtime got better and better,” Montgomery said. “Obviously our best player was Bish. He was incredible.” Pekka Rinne, who won the Vezina Trophy last year as the NHL’s top goalie, also set a career best by stopping 49 shots in his 89th career playoff game. That included an impressive pad save on Benn’s shot just more than five minutes into the overtime period, when the Stars had a 14-8 advantage on shots. “It’s tough. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Predators defenceman P.K. Subban said. “We came in here obviously wanting to take the series back to Nashville, and I thought we gave ourselves a great opportunity to do that.” Blake Comeau scored his first playoff goal for the Stars, tying the game at 1-1 in the second period. But he also had a tripping penalty with 1:53 left in regulation that put Nashville on the power play. The Predators stuck to the series script and didn’t score a goal. They didn’t even get a shot on goal before the third period ended, or when finishing the final seconds with a man advantage to start overtime. They were 0 for 4 on the power play in Game 6, and finished 0 for 15 in the series. They were the only one of the 16 teams that made the playoffs that didn’t have a power-play goal in the post-season. “I don’t have that answer right now,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “Even tonight, we had a lot of chances on the power play,” defenceman Roman Josi said. “If we get a goal there, it’s a different game.” Nashville had only one shot in the last nine minutes of regulation, and that doesn’t count Calle Jarnkrok’s shot at an angle over Bishop that ricocheted off the crossbar . Colton Sissons had a breakaway for Nashville with about 11 minutes left that was denied by Bishop, just before Comeau and Andrew Cogliano had swipes against Rinne. Austin Watson scored a goal for Nashville in the first period. Dallas tied the game at 1 almost 5 1/2 minutes into the second period when Radek Faksa poked a puck away from Nashville and started skating the other way. Faksa then fed back to Comeau, skating through the slot for a wicked wrist shot into left side of the net. That was right after Nashville’s second line, now with Rocco Grimaldi, had three point-blank shots in 10 seconds turned away by Bishop. With a team-high three goals in the series, the 5-foot-7 Grimaldi was moved up from the fourth line to the second line in the most significant lineup switch made by Laviolette going into the elimination game. Rinne had glove saves on second-period shots by Tyler Seguin and Benn, who combined for 11 of their 23 shots the first two periods.