Stars keeping 'that desperation' for Game 6 of Western Final

DALLAS --After losing the first three games of the Western Conference Final, Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer was made aware of a phrase by bishop Desmond Tutu: "There is only one way to eat an elephant, a bite at a time."

The Stars took another bite against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, winning 4-2 in Game 5 to stave off elimination again and force a Game 6 at American Airlines Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Although they still trail the best-of-7 series 3-2, the Stars' task of becoming the fifth team in NHL history come back from a 3-0 series deficit no longer seems as daunting, particularly with captain Jamie Benn returning from a two-game suspension for cross-checking Golden Knights captain Mark Stone early in Game 3.

That doesn't mean Dallas can relax, though.

"I think sometimes in human nature there is a tendency to take a breath now, because Jamie's back and we've gotten through that adversity, and we can't do that," DeBoer said on Sunday. "Now we can see the finish line and we have to make sure we take care of business and give ourselves a chance to cross it."

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In order to do that, the Stars will need to make sure that they play with the same desperation they did in Games 4 and 5 because it is likely that they will see that same level from the Golden Knights, who won't want to return to Vegas for a Game 7.

"I do," DeBoer said when asked if he thought Vegas would play with more desperation. "I also think the pressure ramps up. We all handle the pressure differently, and that's a big pressure to blow a 3-0 lead."

Despite falling behind 3-0 in the series, it isn't as if the games haven't been close. Vegas won 4-3 in overtime in Game 1 and 3-2 in overtime in Game 2. Dallas won 3-2 in overtime in Game 4, and Game 5 was tied in the third period before Ty Dellandrea, who was a healthy scratch the first two games of the series, scored twice for his first multigoal NHL game.

The only outlier was Game 3, which the Golden Knights won 4-0 after Benn was assessed the major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking Stone.

"We're still down 3-2, and it's one loss and we're going home for the summer," Stars defenseman Thomas Harley said. "It's not going to be hard to keep that desperation because we're in the same boat we were two games ago. We just have to keep doing what we're doing and we'll be OK."

It certainly helps that the Stars have been getting production from forward Jason Robertson, who had 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) during the regular season. Robertson has five goals against the Golden Knights after scoring just twice in his first 13 games this postseason.

"He's a scorer and I think he's feeling it, and when goal-scorers feel it like that, they get on runs," DeBoer said. "He went 25 games at the beginning of the season and scored every night. He's that type of player and that's what I see right now. I see him in that type of groove."

That groove has helped the Stars, who are as confident as they have been in the Western Final, force Game 6. And if they can win one more and push the series to seven, then all bets will be off.

"It's still one at a time, that's been echoed throughout the room and that will stand," Stars forward Fredrik Olofsson said. "It'll be nice to get [Benn] back in the lineup here, and we feel good."