Jets look to outshine Stars Final Central Division clash a first-time post-season matchup By: Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe Posted: 6:45 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 6, 2025

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This article was published 06/05/2025 (489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The Winnipeg Jets are still alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs thanks to a “Manitoba Miracle On Ice” which included Cole Perfetti’s season-saving buzzer-beater and Adam Lowry’s double-overtime dagger in Game 7 Sunday night against the St. Louis Blues.

All of which begs the next question: What might they do for an encore?

The answers start to come on Wednesday night when the best-of-seven second-round series against the Dallas Stars gets underway at Canada Life Centre.

There’s no shortage of scintillating storylines in the first-ever postseason meeting between these fierce Central Division rivals, who finished first and fifth-overall in the regular season standings. Here are seven key ones.

1) What’s left in the tank?

Both the Jets and Stars were pushed to the absolute limit in the first round. Dallas pulled off the improbable comeback first, rallying on Saturday night from a 2-0 Game 7 deficit to score four unanswered goals to beat the Colorado Avalanche.

“I think when your life flashes before your eyes like it did the last 10 minutes of that Game 7 the other night and you get that close to your season ending, you appreciate every day you can come to work and are still alive here,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters in Dallas on Tuesday.

He was talking about his team, of course.

But the same logic would certainly apply to Winnipeg.

Both clubs are coming off incredible highs while also having very little time to catch their breath and recover. In that sense, there should be no real advantage or disadvantage, the way you might get if one team had cruised through its opening round.

“I think we can ride the momentum from the last series win, but at the same time reset and get ready for a new challenge with Dallas,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk.

2) Connor Hellebuyck vs. Jake Oettinger

This is a fascinating goaltending battle between the top two American puck-stoppers who were teammates in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Hellebuyck is coming off a shaky series against the Blues, while Oettinger is widely regarded as one of the main reasons Dallas was able to get past Colorado.

That led to plenty of talk that perhaps Oettinger had surpassed Hellebuyck as the likely number one for the U.S. Olympic team next winter.

The real challenge for Hellebuyck might be in his own head, something he spoke candidly about on Tuesday.

“It’s one of those things that’s been building all those years and I think it’s just because I want it so bad,” he said of his playoff struggles, which included being pulled in all three games played in St. Louis.

“Probably the hardest part of goaltending is getting shelled, on the road, and getting pulled. And then coming back the next day and putting your best foot forward.”

To his credit, Hellebuyck stood tall against the Blues in Game 7 once the deficit hit 3-1 near the end of the second period. He made several key saves in the final frame and the two overtimes and perhaps, in the process, has slayed the proverbial dragon.

“Getting into that OT it was ‘I’m not going to let these guys down.’ They pulled through and the rest is history,” he said. “I definitely felt a little something there. At this point, the pressure has kind of fallen off. The weight of the world is off my shoulders.”

If Hellebuyck can return to the type of regular-season form that led to a first-ever Hart Trophy nomination and a fifth Vezina Trophy nomination, then look out.

“We’re in some new territory that we haven’t been in in a little while. I’m really excited. It’s a re-start for me. Who cares about what just happened?” he said.

“We got through it, and moving forward here I’m really excited to put my best foot forward and do my job.”

3) Injury concerns

Winnipeg and Dallas are mirror images of each other in multiple ways, including the fact they each pulled off Game 7 victories without their best defencemen and a top forward out of the lineup.

Josh Morrissey suffered an upper-body injury just a few minutes into the contest on Sunday and didn’t return, while Mark Scheifele missed a second straight game due to an upper-body ailment. Both participated in Tuesday’s practice wearing yellow non-contact sweaters and are considered “game-time decisions” for Game 1.

Miro Heiskanen (knee) and Jason Robertson (knee) missed the entire Colorado series, but both are nearing returns for the Stars.

Obviously, the absence/addition of these four players could drastically alter the series. Jets defenceman Logan Stanley and Stars forward Colin Blackwell are also nursing hurts.

4) Star power

Even if they might be missing a key weapon or two, there’s no shortage of firepower on either squad.

Jets forward Kyle Connor and Stars forward Mikko Rantanen led their respective teams with 12 points in the first round, which has them tied for the playoff scoring lead.

Connor scored two game-winners and set up two clinching goals as well.

Nine of Rantanen’s points came in the final three games, including being in on all four goals in that Game 7 rally by Dallas. Talk about coming in hot.

The Jets also have the likes of Gabe Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers, who didn’t start the St. Louis series due to injuries but certainly had an impact by the end of it.

Cole Perfetti certainly fits the billing of a budding star as well after scoring three goals, including twice in Game 7. And don’t discount the job Neal Pionk has done on the back-end.

The Stars lean heavily on the likes of Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene, while Thomas Harley is one of the best young defencemen in the game.

“They’re a heck of a team. Really well structured, really tight checking, and obviously they have a lot of skill, too. So that’s what we’re prepared for this series,” said Pionk.

5) Depth/secondary scoring

These are two teams that have faith in all four lines and, given how taxing the opening-round series was on both fronts, you can be sure that both coaching staffs will be leaning on their depth in the second round.

The Jets got at least one point from 18 of the 23 skaters who suited up in the first round, while 17 of the 19 skaters to appear for the Stars also got on the board.

The Jets’ depth was heavily tested, but a number of role players came up with big moments, whether that was Lowry delivering the series-clincher in double overtime, or defenceman Haydn Fleury playing more than 33 minutes in what was just his second game of the opening-round series to have a hand in that game-winning goal — even though he wasn’t credited with a point.

“We spoke all year about (being) the sum of all parts and that our depth is really good,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “That was on display, for sure.”

Vladislav Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter and Morgan Barron all did a bunch of heavy lifting as the series moved along.

The Stars have three balanced lines that can score, while the expected return of Robertson early in the series should stretch out the lineup even further. The Jets got a pair of pivotal fourth-line goals against the Blues, while the Stars got an OT winner from Blackwell in Game 2. You can count on unsung heroes playing a role in the outcome of this great matchup.

6) Home-ice advantage? Road-ice disadvantage?

While it’s true the Jets could technically win the Stanley Cup by losing every game they play away from Canada Life Centre, that’s a dangerous way to live. But Winnipeg’s splits during the first round were quite something: 4-0 at home, 0-3 on the road.

No doubt they’ll want to continue using the Whiteout crowd to their advantage, but a Jets team that led the NHL in road victories during the regular season (26) could help the cause with one or two in enemy territory this round.

Dallas was one of the best home teams during the 82-game campaign and went 3-1 at American Airlines Center in the first round and 1-2 in Denver.

7) Bench bosses

The chess match between Arniel and Blues bench boss Jim Montgomery was fascinating to observe and the next one with DeBoer also figures to be highly entertaining.

Arniel’s first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs as a head coach featured plenty of drama and an exhilarating Game 7 victory.

Adjustments were a hot topic of conversation during the opening round and the Jets’ ability to adapt should come in handy against a Stars team that is a bit deeper than the Blues and also features a bit more high-end talent.

DeBoer’s team also needed a two-goal rally in the third period to avoid extinction as well, as he improved to a ridiculous 9-0 in Game 7s during his time behind an NHL bench.

DeBoer has a decisive edge in experience as an NHL head coach, as his teams have advanced to the Stanley Cup on two occasions (New Jersey Devils in 2012 and San Jose Sharks in 2016) and have been to the Western or Eastern Conference final seven different times — including four times during the past five seasons with both the Stars and Vegas Golden Knights.

As mentioned in the first round, Arniel was an associate coach on the New York Rangers team that lost in the Stanley Cup final in 2014 to the Los Angeles Kings, and he will also lean on his experience at the helm during the run to the Calder Cup final in 2009 with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League as these playoffs move along.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld