Dallas seeks 3rd trip in row to Western Final; Scheifele to play for Winnipeg after father's death
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DALLAS — The Dallas Stars get a second chance to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Stars failed in their first attempt, losing 4-0 in Game 5 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Thursday, and now lead the best-of-7 series 3-2. They’re 5-1 at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 3-0 in this series.
With a victory, Dallas would advance to the Western Conference Final for the third straight season and would face the Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in their second-round series.
“Our home crowd’s a big advantage for us,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “It has been my entire time here. You know we have to approach this like a Game 7, even though we have the luxury of it not being a Game 7.”
The Jets are 0-5 on the road in these Stanley Cup Playoffs and have lost nine straight road playoff games dating to 2023. But they’re 6-1 at home this postseason, including two straight 4-0 wins against Dallas, and Game 7 would be at Canada Life Centre on Monday.
“Every streak ends, whether it’s a good one or a bad one, and we’re planning on doing that [Saturday],” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Can’t do anything about what’s all behind us now. It’s a case of us making sure that what comes on the ice (in Dallas) is the best product we can bring. Continue what we did (in Game 5). There’s a lot of real positives there. And build on that and just put that forward.”
The Jets are trying to reach the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2018; the Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise has never advanced further.
Teams that hold a 3-2 lead in a Stanley Cup Playoff series go on to win the series 79.4 percent of the time (362-94); teams that lead a 3-2 series beginning on the road win 77 percent of the time (141-42).
Here is a breakdown of Game 6:
Jets: Mark Scheifele will play following the unexpected death of his father, Brad. The center is second on the Jets in scoring this postseason with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 10 games, including four points (two goals, two assists) in five games in this series. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 0-9 with a 5.50 goals-against average and an .831 save percentage in his past nine road playoff games, including 0-5 with a 5.84 GAA and .793 save percentage this season. Forward Kyle Connor has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in eight elimination games in his NHL career, the most in Winnipeg/Atlanta history.
Stars: Goalie Jake Oettinger is 5-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .920 save percentage at home this postseason and 17-6 in games following a loss within a postseason. Forward Mikko Rantanen leads all playoff scorers with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 12 games, including seven points (four goals, three assists) in this series. Dallas needs more offense from others, including forwards Jamie Benn (one goal in 12 games in the playoffs), Evgenii Dadonov (one), Mason Marchment (one) and Matt Duchene (none). Forward Jason Robertson, who led Dallas with 35 goals in the regular season, has not scored in five games since returning from a lower-body injury.
Number to know: 12. That’s how many goals Rantanen has scored in potential series-clinching games, tied with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin for second-most among active players. Patrick Kane is first with 14.
What to look for: Can Hellebuyck perform in a huge spot on the road? Will Rantanen take the lead again, or can someone else step up for the Stars?
Jets aim to avoid elimination as they take on the Stars Saturday at 8PM on ABC
“We’ve never been a team that’s panicked if we’re down one or two. We’ve always kind of stayed in games. But just that something maybe we haven’t really done in this playoff is get out in front, in front of it, and kind of build off some of that momentum and maybe take the crowd out of it. That’s something that we talk about, but we have to go through it.” — Arniel on scoring first
“There’s nothing better than playoff, NHL playoff hockey, and especially when you’re riding the right side of it. When you’re on the wrong side of it, it’s, I’m not going to lie, there’s not a lot of enjoyment to it. There’s some pain and some sleeplessness. But you also know that next high moment is right around the corner. And that’s what we’ve got to concentrate on.” — DeBoer
Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Gabriel Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers — Vladislav Namestnikov — Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter — Adam Lowry — Mason Appleton
Brandon Tanev — Morgan Barron — Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey — Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg — Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury — Colin Miller
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Scratched: Dominic Toninato, David Gustafsson, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Luke Schenn, Ville Heinola
Injured: Rasmus Kupari (concussion), Logan Stanley (undisclosed)
Mikael Granlund — Roope Hintz — Mikko Rantanen
Jamie Benn — Matt Duchene — Tyler Seguin
Mason Marchment– Wyatt Johnston — Jason Robertson
Sam Steel — Evgenii Dadonov
Thomas Harley — Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell — Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel — Alexander Petrovic
Ilya Lyubushkin
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Mavrik Bourque, Colin Blackwell, Mathew Dumba, Brendan Smith
Injured: Nils Lundkvist (shoulder)
Status report
Each team held an optional morning skate. … The Stars will continue to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen; DeBoer said that allows Dallas to continue to manage minutes for Heiskanen, who returned in Game 4 following knee surgery in January, and get forwards extra minutes.
NHL.com independent correspondents Darrin Bauming and Taylor Baird contributed to this report
