Defenseman wins it with power-play goal at 1:33; will face Oilers in conference final
Jets at Stars | Recap | Round 2, Game 6
DALLAS — Thomas Harley scored a power-play goal 1:33 into overtime, and the Dallas Stars eliminated the Winnipeg Jets with a 2-1 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
With Mark Scheifele in the penalty box for tripping Sam Steel on a breakaway with 15 seconds left in the third period, Harley won it with a one-timer from the high slot off Tyler Seguin’s pass from below the goal line.
“It was all pretty quick,” Harley said. “It happened pretty quick. I do remember jumping up pretty high [in celebration]. I think I beat my record at training camp with that one. But [Seguin] made a great play behind the net with his head up. I just tried to put it across and it went in. After that, just happy thoughts.”
WPG@DAL, Gm6: Harley scores PPG in OT to propel Stars to Western Conference Final
Dallas will face the Edmonton Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Pacific Division, in a rematch of the conference final from last season, won by the Oilers in six games. Game 1 of the best-of-7 series will be here on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
It is the Stars’ third straight trip to the conference final; they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in 2023.
Steel scored, and Jake Oettinger made 22 saves for Dallas, which is the No. 2 seed from the Central Division.
Scheifele scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves for Winnipeg, the No. 1 seed from the Central and the Presidents’ Trophy winner as the team with the best record in the regular season.
“I can’t imagine there’s a better-coached team in the League than what that coaching staff did with that group,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said of Winnipeg. “I’m a little biased because we work in the West, but, won the Presidents’ Trophy. They give you nothing, they play hard, they play as a team, great leadership. But I think they should win the Jack Adams (Award, for NHL coach of the year) running away in my opinion with the job they did this year. So, hats off to those guys too.”
Scheifele learned Saturday morning that his father, Brad, had died.
“Heartbreaking,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “You know, we felt like we had a great regular season, we felt like we had a team that could go on a run. For it to end the way it did and everything else surrounding the day, it’s just a lot of emotion. It’s tough to put into words what Mark went through today. Gets a huge goal for us, plays a heck of a game, and it ends the way it does. Just emotional, heavy.
“Really proud of the group we had. The commitment, the no quit. A lot of things that a good team needs. We ran into a great Dallas team. We couldn’t find that extra one tonight and that was the difference.”
WPG@DAL, Gm6: Scheifele puts Jets on top in 2nd period
Scheifele gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 5:28 of the second period during a delayed penalty, scoring on a rebound from the low slot that beat Oettinger through the five-hole.
“I know we have a great group here,” Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk said, “so that was what I knew going in once we found out the news, that he was going to have a great support group and we were going to be there for him and through the highs and the lows, and obviously today was a real low. Yeah, did everything we could to give words of encouragement, and for him to play tonight and play the way he did is flat-out one of the most courageous things I’ve ever seen. So, all the credit to him.”
Steel tied it 1-1 at 11:12, one-timing a rebound over the glove from high in the right face-off circle after Hellebuyck made a save on Harley.
“It was nice to get one there going into the third tied up,” Steel said. “Hellebuyck played unbelievable for the last however long. It felt like we couldn’t get one past him there for a bit, so it was nice to get one. And then going into the third with 20 minutes, tied game to win the series. It’s always nice to chip in and when you go on runs like this. You’re going to need all of the lineup to score, so I’m happy I could be that guy tonight.”
Oettinger made a diving save to his right on Mason Appleton’s shot from a sharp angle at 11:22 of the third to keep the game tied.
“I just saw that open net there but somehow [Oettinger] got it. Great save by him,” Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. “I think we played well. There was a little more tougher period, maybe first 10 minutes of the second, Jake made some great saves. We stuck with it and got the goals we needed and got the win.”
WPG@DAL, Gm6: Oettinger robs Appleton with incredible save in 3rd period
Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey left the game late in the second period holding his left knee after getting tied up along the boards with Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen. Jets coach Scott Arniel said Morrissey is “banged up pretty good.”
“Guys have to be awfully proud of that accomplishment,” Arniel said of his team’s season. “How we battled through the playoffs, lots of things happened. We had to go through a lot of bodies. Again, losing Josh tonight was a big blow. Just a lot of circumstances that happened. Our leadership within our group kept grinding everybody and pushing everybody. It’s growth. It hurts a lot.
“But we lost to a great team. We lost to a team that was in our rearview mirror all year long.”
NOTES: Harley (23 years, 271 days) became the third-youngest defenseman in NHL history to score a series-winning goal in overtime, following Babe Pratt (21 years, 77 days; Game 2 of the 1937 NHL Quarterfinals) and Bobby Orr (22 years, 51 days; Game 4 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final). … DeBoer tied Mike Keenan (96) for the fifth-most playoff wins by a coach in NHL history. He also got his 19th career series win to pass Jon Cooper, Darryl Sutter, Keenan and Toe Blake for sole possession of sixth place. … The Jets were 0-6 on the road this season in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have lost 10 straight road playoff games dating to 2023.
