Before the Dallas Stars started their last playoff series, they were on a seven-game losing streak. Jason Robertson had just suffered a lower-body injury, and Miro Heiskanen still didn’t seem particularly close to returning from his.
But two weeks later, the Stars defied the odds, taking down the Colorado Avalanche in seven games as they won the clincher 4-2, scoring four goals in the third period to come from behind.
They enter their second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets as the favorites, especially as those two injured players could return as soon as Game 1.
The best-of-seven Western Conference series will start on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, known as one of the loudest buildings in the league. Game 1 starts at 9:30 a.m., and you can watch it on ESPN or live stream it on ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (cheapest streaming plans).
One thing that Dallas needs is a Game 1 win, having lost its last eight straight. The Stars still have not won a Game 1 under coach Pete DeBoer or since the 2020 Stanley Cup bubble.
Until the Stars can snap that Game 1 losing streak — which was extended with 5-1 loss to Colorado on April 19 — DeBoer will continue to face those same questions, possibly every two weeks.
LIVE STREAM OPTIONS: ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (cheapest streaming plans)
Dallas has an even tougher test this Game 1 against Winnipeg than it’s had in its last four, starting the series on the road against the Jets, who have not yet lost a playoff game this year at Canada Life Centre.
The Stars were better at home than on the road this year, amassing 59 of their 106 points at home and 47 on the road. That’s remained the same in the playoffs, as the Stars won three of four games at American Airlines Center, dropping two of three at Colorado’s Ball Arena.
But as they enter Game 1 in Winnipeg, there’s less pressure. If the Stars can win one of the first two games in Winnipeg, it’s considered stealing one, and they’d only have to win on home ice from there on out.
Dallas also tends to get better as a playoff series goes on. The Stars showed that in the first round against Colorado, where they only won in overtime in Games 1-4 before pulling off two multi-goal regulation wins in Games 5-7. Goalie Jake Oettinger also improved as the series went on.
HOW TO WATCH
WHAT: Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets, Game 1 of best-of-seven Western Conference second-round playoff seriesWHEN: 9:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 7WHERE: Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, ManitobaTV: ESPNLIVESTREAM: ESPN+, fubo TV (FREE trial), DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount) or Sling TV (cheapest streaming plans)
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DeBoer has said he loves the chess match of a playoff series and making adjustments throughout — and in his career he’s excelled in that. But the Stars’ head coach didn’t get to do that in the regular-season series against the Jets.
Even though those games felt like playoff-caliber games, it was more like a series of Game 1s separated by months, where the Stars already don’t thrive. It’s no surprise that Winnipeg went 3-1 in four regular-season meetings and outscored Dallas 13-5.
Winnipeg Jets players confer with coaches during a break in play against the St. Louis Blues during the first period of Game 7 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)AP
“I think playoffs is a different animal,” Stars forward Matt Duchene told The Dallas Morning News. “We didn’t like a lot of our games against them. But playoffs is different. They play a playoff style during the regular season, and we, at times, didn’t adapt to that during the regular season, but we’re in the playoffs now.”
Not only does Winnipeg, the league’s point leader during the regular season, opened this series at home, but it’s also coming off a dramatic Game 7 win. The Jets scored twice in the final 1:56 of regulation against the St Louis Blues, tying the game with 1.6 seconds left and winning 4-3 when Adam Lowry scored 16:10 into the second overtime.