The Stars have reached the Western Conference finals for the third consecutive season.
By Lia Assimakopoulos
Dallas Stars and college sports reporter
For the third consecutive year, the Dallas Stars are going to the Western Conference finals.
The Stars outlasted the Winnipeg Jets in Game 6 on home ice, winning 2-1 in overtime to secure the series 3-2.
In the series’ first overtime contest, Thomas Harley was the hero for Dallas 93 seconds into the overtime period. Harley scored on a power play that Sam Steel drew late in regulation.
The Stars advance to face the Edmonton Oilers, the team that eliminated them in the third round last year. Game 1 is 7 p.m. Wednesday in Dallas.
Here are five thoughts from the Stars’ series-clinching win:
Overtime heroics continue
Through three overtime contests this postseason, the Stars have been undefeated.
In Game 2 against Colorado, Colin Blackwell was the overtime hero. In Game 3 at Ball Arena, it was Tyler Seguin, whose game-winner gave Dallas its first lead in that series.
And Saturday night, Harley secured the series for the Stars and punched Dallas’ ticket back to the Western Conference finals.
Mason Marchment won a puck battle in the corner. Tyler Seguin took over and found Harley for the shot in the high slot.
Harley also assisted on Steel’s second-period goal. He now has four goals and seven assists in 13 playoff games.
Home-ice advantage proves valuable
Stars coach Pete DeBoer said after Game 7 against Colorado that they wouldn’t have won that game if it weren’t for home-ice advantage and the American Airlines Center crowd. The crowd and home-ice advantage again helped the Stars emerge victorious in a series-clinching game.
Despite not having home-ice advantage entering the series against the Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Stars needed to win just one road game. From there, they could win their three home games and move on.
Dallas did just that, winning Games 3 and 4 in decisive fashion before grinding out a nail-biting overtime win at home.
The Jets ended their playoff run without a road win. They also did not win a road playoff game in their one series against Colorado last year.
The Stars are now 6-1 at American Airlines Center this postseason. They will have home-ice advantage next round against the Oilers.
Fourth line makes big impact
Throughout the playoffs, the Stars have jumbled their lines, especially their fourth line.
When playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen, as they have for the last three games, their fourth line became a third line, but was still made up of three players who hadn’t played much together in the past.
Mason Marchment, Sam Steel and Evgenii Dadonov had their best game yet as a new line, generating lots of chances early and scoring the game-tying goal in the second period.
Dadonov had a few Grade A scoring chances in the first period when Dallas could not convert. But after falling behind 1-0, Steel cashed in on a rebound to tie the score 1-1.
The line finished with two shots on goal and eight hits, showing both skill and physicality.
Steel also drew the game’s first power play on a breakaway with 14.8 seconds remaining in regulation that led to the game winner.
Goalie showdown
If we’ve learned one thing in this series, it’s that the United States is set in the goaltending department for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan.
Both Jake Oettinger and Connor Hellebuyck had moments of magnificence through six games — and Saturday night.
Hellebuyck played his best road game of the playoffs, and while he only faced 20 shots Saturday night, he weathered the early storm from Dallas and somehow kept the Stars off the board in the first period despite their dominant play.
Oettinger’s best moments in his 22-save performance came down the stretch, like with 8:32 to play in regulation when he made a diving save on Mason Appleton when the Jets set up an almost guaranteed goal in transition.
That allowed Dallas to go on and win in overtime.
Mark Scheifele’s storybook moment
There was uncertainty Saturday morning about whether Jets forward Mark Scheifele would play in a critical Game 6 in Dallas after his father, Brad, passed away Friday night.
Scheifele decided to take the ice with his team, knowing their season was on the line, and saying it would’ve been what his dad wanted.
Despite all he was going through, Scheifele delivered a big moment for his team.
After the Stars dominated the first period with a 15-1 advantage in scoring chances, Winnipeg got one of its best chances on a breakaway by Nikolaj Ehlers early in the second period.
Oettinger made the stop, but Scheifele followed it up later in the shift and scored off a rebound.
It was his fifth goal of the postseason, and a moment everyone in hockey could appreciate.
The Jets forward did commit the penalty late in regulation that led to the Stars’ overtime goal. His teammates consoled him coming out of the box once the game was over.
Lia Assimakopoulos covers the Dallas Stars, SMU and college sports for The Dallas Morning News. She joined The News in June 2022 as a high school sports reporter and previously contributed to Sports Illustrated, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and NBC Sports. A native of Bethesda, Md., Lia graduated from Northwestern University in 2022.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
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