The Dallas Stars played their best physical game yet in Game 5, setting a roadmap for how to win Game 6 in Colorado.
Dallas is not known for being a physical team, but it’s reached its more aggressive playoff style at the right time.Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon hits Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell as the teams come together during the third period in Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Dallas.
The Stars defeated the Avalanche 6-2.After a late-game scrum, Bichsel was among four players flagged for roughing and given a 10-minute misconduct. As he sat in the box, he flashed the crowd a smile and cupped his ear, motioning for the crowd to cheer him on louder. The rookie defenseman led Dallas in its best physical performance of the series. Now with 20 hits in the postseason, Bichsel enjoyed the moment, as the crowd showed their appreciation for what he brings to the lineup. “He’s 7-feet tall or something with skates and 300 pounds, so I’m happy to be on his side,” Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said of the young defenseman. “With the way he hits guys, it’s hard to go to the net when he’s on the ice. … It’s a physical game in the playoffs, and I think he feeds off that.”Bichsel has been a key part of the Stars making the transition to their playoff game. In the regular season, the Stars were one of the least physical teams in the league, ranking second to last in hits given with an average of 15 per game and leading the league in hits taken with 25 per game.But in the playoffs, it’s a more physical game, and the Stars have had to raise their level, especially against a rival like Colorado. Through the first four games of the series, the Stars struggled to walk the line of physicality and emotion,. But for the first time in Game 5 — even while getting outhit 51-29 — the Stars used their physicality to their advantage. They frustrated some of Colorado’s top scorers, and the penalties they took, according to head coach Pete DeBoer, were smarter. “We were much more competitive physically night than we were in Game 4. That’s a big part of our game, particularly defensively. I thought the entire group was more competitive in that area,” DeBoer said. “The penalties that we took were defending, which I don’t mind. If you’re battling in front of our net to help save a goal, no problem.” Outside of the last minute, Dallas took four penalties, but held Colorado scoreless on the power play. Even though the Avalanche had a significant edge on paper in terms of hits, it didn’t feel that way on the ice. Colorado’s players let their emotions get the best of them at times, like a costly elbowing penalty by Sam Malinski against Sam Steel when Colorado had cut it to a one-goal game. Dallas scored on that power play and quickly regained a three-goal lead after that.Colorado became visibly frustrated down the stretch, throwing punches and breaking sticks in the third period. But Dallas responded well, and multiple players pitched in.“We’ve got some big men back there,” DeBoer said. “Lindell, Bichsel, Petrovic, even Ceci, Lyubushkin, Harley. It’s a big group of defenders, and I think they’re hard to play against when our forwards are managing the puck. That group can really play a physical, hard game, and I thought they took a toll on some of their guys.” Most of Dallas’ usual culprits also managed to stay out of the box. Entering Monday, Mason Marchment led Dallas with 10 penalty minutes in four games, but did not take one in Game 5, and managed to score a timely goal at the other end. Jamie Benn was a strong physical presence with five hits and drew a high-sticking call without committing any penalties of his own. Entering Game 6 in Colorado where the emotions and desperation are going to be at an all-time high, the Stars need to bring that same controlled aggression. Now five games into the series, it seems that they’ve settled into their playoff style of hockey. By meeting Colorado’s emotions with poise, the Stars will have a chance to end the series at Ball Arena and avoid a high-stakes Game 7.“We’ve got to stay out of the box when we go there,” Rantanen said. “Of course, there’s gonna be penalties, but nothing o-zone. We try to prevent that and just play like we played the three games we won. I think those are all games how we want to play and play it simple.”Lia Assimakopoulos Lia Assimakopoulos covers the Dallas Stars, SMU and college sports for The Dallas Morning News. She joined The News in June 2022 as a high school sports reporter and previously contributed to Sports Illustrated, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and NBC Sports. A native of Bethesda, Md., Lia graduated from Northwestern University in 2022.
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