There was that natural inclination for Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer to start paying more attention to St. Louis while watching the game that would determine who his team would play next in the NHL playoffs. But he never really started preparing for the Blues, even as they had a multigoal lead over Winnipeg much of that game.
“That would have been a mistake,” DeBoer said Tuesday. “Just like, you know, whoever was watching our game with Colorado.”
Dallas will instead play the top-seeded Jets after both teams had epic Game 7 rallies at home by overcoming two-goal deficits the third period. Now the teams that finished 1-2 in the Central Division, and have never met in the postseason before, open the second round Wednesday night in Canada.
Winnipeg scored twice in the final 1:56 of regulation against St Louis, tying the game with 1.6 seconds left and winning 4-3 when Adam Lowry scored 16:10 into the second overtime late Sunday night.
“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,” Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg said.
The Stars trailed Colorado 2-0 in the third period, but rode Mikko Rantanen’s four-point period that included a hat trick against his former team to win 4-2. He had 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the last three games of that series.
“When your life flashes before your eyes like it did the last 10 minutes of that Game 7 the other night, when you get that close to your season ending, I think you appreciate every day you can come to work,” DeBoer said. “Those are always emotional wins, and we both had them. It’s how do you recover from that quickly and get reengaged in the next series. I’m sure both teams are talking about that.”
Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, one of three finalists to win the top goalie award again this season, has been at his best against the Stars.
Winnipeg was 3-1 this season against Dallas, while Hellebuyck had a .965 save percentage, stopping 109 of 113 shots for a 1.01 goals against average. His Game 7 win came after the Jets failed to get past the first round the last two seasons after not even making the playoffs in 2022. He gave up 16 goals in three road games against the Blues, but only 10 in four at home.
“At this point, the pressure has kind of fallen off. The weight of the world is off my shoulders. And that had nothing to do with anyone else. It’s just the mental grind of that series,” Hellebuyck said Tuesday. “That being said, in that moment it was a second chance for me. I just had to go and play my game and do what I do best.”
Hellebuyck is 22-30 in his 52 career playoff games, with a .902 save percentage and 2.98 GAA.
Jake Oettinger, the 26-year-old Stars goalie who backed up Hellebuyck for Team USA in the 4 Nations tournament this year, has a better playoff record at 27-25. He has a .915 save percentage and 2.52 GAA in 54 playoff games.
“You always want to play against the best goalies in the world,” Oettinger said. “This is going to be a great series. Goals aren’t going to be easy to come by for us.”
The Stars have lost eight consecutive series openers in the NHL playoffs since 2022, including all seven under DeBoer after a 5-1 loss in Game 1 to the Avs.
“Well, we’re going on the road,” DeBoer said when asked if there was anything he could do to try to change that trend. “Other than that, not really. There’s only so much you can do. I like our preparation. The way we prepare for a Game 7 is the same way we prepare for a Game 1.”
Six of Dallas’ seven Game 1s under DeBoer have been at home. So have all three Game 7s, like Saturday against the Avs that made DeBoer 9-0 — the most wins by any NHL coach or player in such games.
Top centers and top defensemen are hurting for both teams.
Winnipeg’s center Mark Schiefele didn’t play the last two games of the first round after exiting early in Game 5 with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Josh Morrissey then got hurt two minutes into Game 7.
Jets coach Scott Arniel said Tuesday that both would be game-time decisions.
Dallas has been without top goal scorer Jason Robertson, who got hurt in the regular-season finale, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen since late January. Both have lower-body injuries.
Robertson skated with a line in practice Tuesday, and DeBoer said his availability would depend on how he feels Wednesday. Heiskanen could return later in the series.
Rick Bowness was on an NHL bench as a head coach or an assistant for a record 2,726 regular-season games over 38 seasons. The last two teams he coached were the Stars (2019-22) and the Jets (2022-24), making him the predecessor to DeBoer and Arniel.
Bowness, now 70, was 89-62-25 in Dallas and took the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in the Canadian bubble during the pandemic-impacted 2020 playoffs. He was 98-57-9 and made the playoffs each of the past two seasons in Winnipeg before retiring.
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