Dallas stars reached the second round of the Stanley Cup qualifiers for the third consecutive year after beating the Avalanche du Colorado 4-3 on the 1st round.
Just a day after the stars achieved a miraculous return in match 7 of their series, the Winnipeg jets did the same, eliminating the St. Louis Blues in double extension.
The stars will now be confronted with the winners of the president's trophy in the second round. The series begins Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Here are five things to know about the series of stars against jets:
The two teams come out of the epic summits
If the stars thought that their third period return against the Colorado avalanche was epic – when Mikko Rantanen marked a third -time hat trick against his old team – it is because Winnipeg had not yet shown what he could do.
The jets had spent only 70 seconds in the match and were two minutes from the offseason when Vladislav Namestnikov brought the match for a purpose. With 1.6 seconds to play in the regulations, Cole Perfetti scored the goal for sending the 7 overtime match 7.
Jets and blues fought for nearly two periods of complete extension before Adam Lowry scored the winning goal.
Jets can be more tired than the stars entering the match 1 on Wednesday, having a day less rest and playing an additional 36 minutes in match 7. The stars hope that they will be able to use it to their advantage, because Dallas has lost its last eight games 1.
Jets have a curse in the playoffs
It is rare to want to face the best team of the league in the playoffs, but the jets can have more than the curse of the trophy of presidents who work against them.
Winnipeg has the reputation of collapsing in the playoffs, as is his goalkeeper Superstar Connor Hellebuyck.
The jets have reached the playoffs in the past eight of the last eight seasons, but have spent beyond the first round only three times, including this year. In the history of the franchise, he only won four playoff series in total and never a Stanley Cup.
The jets entered the playoffs as the best team in the League, opposite St. Louis Blues, the last team to obtain a place in the West. But the series required a miraculous return and a double extension in match 7 just so that the jets survive.
Dallas is the most experienced team at this time of year, after consecutive races to the Western Conference final.
All eyes on guards
The two best goalkeepers of American league will compete for a place in the Western Conference final, and perhaps the departure of the American team at the Olympic Games next year.
Winnipeg goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck, had obtained this starting place safely during what should be a consecutive campaign in Vezina and exceptional performance in the 4 nations tournament. Jake Oettinger de Dallas was his backup.
But when the lights are the brightest, Hellebuyck has weakened, including this year's qualifying series. He posted a percentage of stops from .830 and an average of 3.85 goals in seven games – and his number of roads is much worse, because the jets have granted 17 goals on the road this series.
Oettinger, on the other hand, was a great reason why Dallas survived such an exhausting series against Colorado, ending with a percentage of stops of .911 and an average of goals at 2.85 goals.
Injuries on both sides
Dallas and Winnipeg lack key players as the series approaches.
The stars played the whole first round without the top scorer Jason Robertson, who suffered a leg injury in match 82 of the regular season, and Miro Heiskanen, who underwent a knee operation in early February.
The two players are now skating with the group and are labeled day by day. Head coach Pete Deboer said on Saturday evening that he expects him to expect to play at turn 2.
Winnipeg's second top scorer in the playoffs, Mark Scheifele missed matches 6 and 7 after undergoing two major successes in match 5, forcing an early release. Scheifele finished with a career summit of 87 points (39 goals and 48 assists) in the regular season.
Josh Morrissey jets left match 7 in the first period with an undisclosed injury. Morrissey collected three assists in six games in playoffs and 62 points (14 goals and 48 assists) in 80 regular season games, fourth on the jets.
Like the last series, the return of key players will be an important story in the first games in the Dallas-Winnipeg series.
Ice at home, record point of the regular season in favor of Winnipeg
The stars will be without advantage at home for the first time since the Western Conference final of 2023.
The stars fought on the stretch of the season to catch the jets in the race for the central division, but the warm departure of Winnipeg left them too far in advance.
This means that the stars may have to make three trips to Manitoba for matches 1, 2, 5 and 7. They will also have to win at least one game on the road in Canada Life Center where the jets are undefeated in the playoffs.
A great reason for Winnipeg to have this advantage is the regular season series between these two teams. During four regular season meetings, the jets went 3-1-0 against the stars, exceeding them 12-5.
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