The Dallas Stars have become accustomed to winning dramatic, seven-game series in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, as they have done so for two consecutive years.
So after a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on home ice in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round, the Stars will have to do it again to advance in 2026.
Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen scored once each, with Robertson continuing his rough start in these playoffs by scoring for the fifth consecutive game. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves in the loss, and Dallas now trails the best-of-7 series 3-2.
Game 6 will be Thursday in St. Paul, Minn.
Stars didn’t do enough to win Game 5
Dallas hosted Game 5 of the first-round playoff series for the fourth consecutive year. They averaged 4.33 goals and 26 shots per game over the past three games, including a 4-0 win over the Wild in 2023.
So Stars fans could be forgiven for liking what they saw from the home team on Tuesday night. Dallas had only 22 shots on goal, and only 12 in the first 48 minutes, before a late-game push in an inexplicably flat performance for a veteran team in a decisive game that was too little, too late.
“Everyone needs to step up,” Stars coach Glenn Gulutzan said. “It’s a team effort to try and get it done. … We just need a little bit more from everybody.”
Oettinger’s playoff struggles again reared their ugly head, most notably on Michael McCarron’s insurance goal at 7:47 of the third period, which ultimately served as the game-winner. Oettinger lost his balance and failed to keep his pads on the ice, and McCarron slipped the puck under him, giving Minnesota a 3–1 lead at 7:47 of the third minute.
The Stars lacked the desperation expected in such an important game. They had no high-danger scoring chances in the first period – Minnesota led 6–0 in such chances over the course of 20 minutes – and dominated expected goal chances in the first period by 1.41–0.44, even though it was 1–1 to one.
Stars need to do more at 5-on-5
Robertson’s third-period goal will go down as an even-strength tally, but even that is misleading because it came on a 5-on-4 with Oettinger pulled for an extra attacker.
The Stars are not able to score strongly in this series also. He hasn’t scored a goal at five-on-five since Robertson scored in the first period of Game 3 – a span of nearly 220 minutes. The Stars’ three goals at five-on-five are the fewest of any team still playing – and are tied with the Ottawa Senators for 15th in the playoffs, ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings’ two.
“We thought we created some opportunities for ourselves,” Gulutzan said. “Now we have to take the next step and adopt some of those.”
Dallas made only 16 shots from five in the game.
The Stars are in the series thanks to their white-hot power play, which led to Heiskanen’s game-tying goal in the first period for the ninth time in the series. But the man-advantage went to 0 of 3 after the first period of Game 5.
Dallas needs win again at Minnesota
Dallas had earned home-ice advantage for two of the final three games after a double-overtime win over Minnesota in Game 3.
But two consecutive losses, one in OT and the other in Game 5 in a largely tied affair, have pushed the Stars to the brink of elimination. They’ll have to overcome both Matt Boldy (four goals) and the Wild, but also the noisy atmosphere at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, which certainly awaits.
Dallas is 1-3 in St. Paul this season, although one of its regular season losses came in overtime. The Wild must be feeling angry, too, as this core has yet to win a postseason series – Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff series since 2015.
But the Stars haven’t won a series since the 1999 Western Conference Finals, going down 3-2. They will need a better performance in Game 6 to have a chance to potentially win the series at home in Game 7.
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