Stars may have ‘something special going on’ heading into West Final against Oilers

DALLAS -- Is this the year for the Dallas Stars?

They advanced to the Western Conference Final for the third straight season Saturday when they eliminated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime in Game 6 of the second round at American Airlines Center.

After losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and the Edmonton Oilers in 2024, they have reason to believe this time will be different. They get another shot at the Oilers, with Game 1 here Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“I think we’ve got something special going on,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’re going to have to prove it again. We’ve been to this spot the last two years and haven’t taken the next step, so that’s the challenge.”

Dallas just defeated two of the best teams in the NHL despite adversity.

In the first round, the Stars overcame the Colorado Avalanche, who won the Stanley Cup in 2022, added depth during the season and have two of the top players in the world in center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar.

They did it in seven games without Miro Heiskanen, their No. 1 defenseman, and forward Jason Robertson, who led them with 35 goals in the regular season, due to lower-body injuries.

In the second round, the Stars grounded the Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team and had Connor Hellebuyck, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s best goalie, and the Hart Trophy, which goes to the League’s most valuable player.

They did it even though Robertson didn’t score in six games and Heiskanen came back for only three games, each still getting up to speed. They did it even though some key forwards have struggled to score, including Jamie Benn (one goal in 13 games), Evgenii Dadonov (one), Mason Marchment (one) and Matt Duchene (none).

“It’s hard to believe we’re halfway, right?” DeBoer said. “It sure feels like we’ve been through a lot. But that’s the beauty of the NHL playoffs. We’ll take a couple days [to rest]. I think we’ve got a lot left.”

Dallas is different this season most notably because of the addition of forward Mikko Rantanen, who leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 13 games.

But the Stars also added forward Mikael Granlund, who has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 13 games, and defenseman Cody Ceci, who plays an important role.

They have gotten big goals from unsung heroes like defenseman Alexander Petrovic and forwards Colin Blackwell and Sam Steel. It was Steel who finally broke through at 11:12 of the second period Saturday, after Dallas failed to cash in on several chances and fell behind 1-0.

“It’s always nice to chip in, and when you go on runs like this, you’re going to need guys all over the lineup to score,” Steel said. “So, happy I could be that guy tonight.”

The Stars have had excellent special teams and gotten elite goaltending from Jake Oettinger, who made a spectacular save to keep the game 1-1 at 11:22 of the third period Saturday, diving to his right across the crease to rob Jets forward Mason Appleton.

Oettinger is 8-5 with a 2.47 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in the playoffs. In this series, he went 4-2 with a 2.02 GAA and .929 save percentage, while Hellebuyck went 2-4 with a 2.20 GAA and .905 save percentage.

“Our goaltending’s been exceptional,” DeBoer said. “Listen, he just went head to head with maybe the MVP of the League and what everyone is saying is the best goaltender in the world -- and he probably was this year -- in Hellebuyck, and he went toe to toe with him, nose to nose with him, the entire series. So great character, gut-check by Jake, and he’s delivering at a real key time for us.”

What if Heiskanen and Robertson return to form? What if players like Benn, Dadonov, Duchene and Marchment start scoring?

“I think we have a deep team, a lot of guys who probably still got better,” Heiskanen said. “As a team, I think we’ve still got another gear, and hopefully we can do that in the next round.”

We’ll see. The Oilers have two of the best players in the world in forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and they’ve added depth. They look like they’re on a mission after losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

“It’s up to us as a group to take that next step,” Oettinger said. “I think we should feel great about what we’ve done with the adversity we’ve faced. Yeah, I think our best hockey is yet to come.”